A Geniuses Guide to Germany
by Inuyasha4eva
Summary: A single cell-phone call concerning L's other "friend" spurs a life-changing trip that Light's being dragged into. Light is ill-prepared for what lays ahead. It isn't helping that L refuses to say where they are going. LXLight
1. The Trip

It was late afternoon. The task force had been working non-stop all day without any new leads. This made the task force feel slightly downhearted, but they kept up with their work anyway. The younger members of the task force sat close next to each other (due to the handcuffs), and continued to work diligently. That is until a cell-phone rang.

L slowly reached into his pocket and slid his phone out to flip open. He held it up to his ear in his special way and seemed to listen intently. Matsuda looked over disapprovingly. He was still upset that L was able to use a cell-phone when the other task force workers weren't.

"Yes, I see" L spoke into the phone, "one moment,"

L stood up and began walking out of the room. Light got out of his chair as he was dragged behind L reluctantly. The task force watched with interest as they watched the two leave the room. Then they got back to work.

L held his cell-phone opened by his side as he slumped down the hall. He then stopped at a door and opened it with his other hand. Light made a move to follow, but L pushed Light back behind the door-frame again. The detective then proceeded to slam the door in Light's face.

Light was taken aback. Not only did he get a door slammed in his face, but this was the first time L had ever let him out of his sight for almost the whole time they had been chained together. It puzzled Light. Why let him out of his view now?

Light could hear L murmuring in the other room. Curiosity took over Light and he leaned in close to the door. He pressed his ear against it. However, L was speaking English and at a fast pace. This made it slightly difficult for Light to decipher what L was saying. He only picked up few words, but not enough to make any sense of it.

Suddenly L stopped talking. Light leaned closer into the door to see if the detective was simply talking softer. A second later Light found his head no longer propped up by the wood of the door and he began falling. As he went crashing towards the ground, Light tried to brace himself with his arms. This plan failed and now Light lay on the floor nursing his most likely bruising elbow.

"That's very suspicious behavior. I imagine it would be something Kira would do," L's voice said from above. Light looked up and glared at him. Light took a moment before pushing himself up off the floor to stand up.

"I was just curious as to what the call was about. What if it had something to do with the investigation?" Light retorted.

"If it had something to do with the investigation Yagami-kun, then I would have informed the rest of the task force later. However, it has nothing to do with that," L said as he put his hands in his pockets. The chain clinked along with the movement of L's hands.

Light bit his tongue. There were so many horrible things he wanted to say to L, but apparently in the detective's opinion he was already being suspicious. It was most likely to save his comments for a later date. Light opted for an alternative statement though.

"What else is so much more important than the investigation that you had to go in another room to go talk about it?" Light questioned angrily.

L stayed quiet and tilted his head to the side. In Light's mind when the insomniac did that he looked something akin to an owl. His deep black large wide eyes staring blankly at Light. Then L blinked.

"If you must know the conversation is about a favor I owe a food friend of mine. I promised I would do something special for him for his birthday," L answered plainly.

Light was surprised for a second time that day. Apparently L wasn't as much of a social outcast as he had previously assumed. The guy had a friend. Light wanted to ask about how L even managed to acquire a have a friend, but decided to ask something else instead.

"A favor?" was the intelligible question blurted out of Light's mouth. He kind of felt embarrassed now that the question was out. It sounded so stupid when it had come out of his mouth. L scratched his foot and gazed up at the ceiling with thought.

"I promised him a trip somewhere," L answered.

"A trip?"

"A trip,"

"How can you go on a trip when Kira is still out there? Are you giving up again?" Light spouted out in an angered tone.

"Don't worry. I plan to have the investigation full and running when I'm gone. And as for Kira… Well, I suppose you will be coming with me on this trip with my friend," L said as he started nibbling on his thumb. Light chose to ignore the obvious stab of accusation sent his way and went straight to the other point.

"I'm going with you?"

"Sadly, Yes"

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I had promised myself that I wouldn't start another fanfiction until I was finished with one of my other ones. As you can see that didn't happen… I've been itching to write an on-going Death Note fanfic for a while now. I finally gave in during my travels in Germany (hmmmm, so that's where this idea comes from). I whipped out my travel journal and began writing away. I plan to update this story either once or twice a week. Since this chapter was a bit on the short side I think I'll post another one soon. Review please.


	2. The Airport

Light was severely annoyed. It had been exactly one week since he had been informed about the trip he was being forced into with L. What annoyed Light most about the situation, however, was that L refused to tell him exactly where they were going.

The detective was being incredibly elusive about it. Light was not sure why L wasn't telling him where on earth they were going, but he was determined to figure it out. Light tried picking out certain clues in order to piece them together. He figured if he put enough of the pieces together he'd know where they were going.

So far, Light had narrowed it down to the European Union. It would be one of these countries in the European Union that they were headed to. The few clues he had managed to collect led him to come to this conclusion.

The first clue had come when L specified what Light needed to pack in his suit case for the trip. Most of the clothes asked to be brought were meant for colder weather. A snow suit was asked to be brought too. This meant that they were going to has a cooler climate.

The second clue came when Light was told by L to either get a passport or re-new one he may already have. This definitely meant they were going out of the country, but that was still a large area to discern one exact location, even when you narrowed it down to places that are cold.

The third and final clue was the one that gave Light the belief that they were headed to a country in the European Union. It was when L had asked Light's father to exchange money for the trip. When Light's father had dropped off the money for Light, he found they were Euros.

This was the best clue of all. Why? Currently the European Union has 27 member states or independent sovereign countries. Those countries being Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

This seemed to narrow the search considerably. There were only 27 countries standing in Light's way of knowing what he needed to. Now Light only needed was one more clue and he'd have it. Although it was a bit late for that considering they were on their way to the airport.

Watari was driving the two young men quietly in the limo. Light stared out the window as he moved his arms freely around him due to the fact the handcuffs had been taken off. This was only a temporary thing, however. L said it would be troublesome going through the airport security wearing them. Light glowered.

Light subtly turned his head to look at the insomniac. L was silently nibbling his thumb as he sat in his crouched position. His large dark eyes caught Light's gaze and he turned his head to stare back at him. Light frowned and then finally decided to ask what had been bugging the past two days.

"So Ryuzaki, where exactly are we going in the European Union? I imagine it's going to be fairly cold there judging by the clothes I packed?" Light asked smoothly with an arrogant look on his face. L just continued nibbling on his thumb before finally lowering his hand.

"I see you managed to figure it out mostly. You were always a perceptive person Yagami-kun. However, you will have to wait a bit longer before I reveal where we are going," L replied back just as smoothly and let his Jack Skellington like smile spread across his face. Light frowned deeper now.

"Well when? Will I find out on the plain? That isn't entirely fair Ryuzaki…" Light said irritably. L said nothing and turned back to the window. The rest of the ride to the airport continued in silence.

They arrived shortly after the conversation had ended. Light now dragged his suitcase slowly behind him as he followed L in silent simmering anger. The famous detective couldn't have looked any stranger walking through the airport.

L walked in his slumped hunch and had his arm slung back carrying his suitcase at a tilted angle, which made the wheels squeak as they scraped against the ground. His untied tennis shows clacked against the floor as well, shoe laces flying up and down as he walked.

They stopped in the check-in line. While they were standing there, Light realized two things. One was that L would have to give him his ticket before they checked their luggage, which meant he would finally found out where they were going. Secondly, L would have his passport.

Passports are a main form of identification. They have all the various pieces of information about the person possessing it. It had a person's nationality, birth date, sex and most importantly…their name.

After registering this in his head, Light inched closer to L. The detective didn't seem to be paying attention and dug in his pocket for what the two needed to check their bags. L pulled out various papers and held them out in front of them. Light hovered over L now in anticipation now. The insomniac finally took notice of Light.

"Is there something you need Yagami-kun?" L asked as he finally adjusted his suitcase to stand properly. Light didn't want to appear too eager, but the curiousty was currently eating away at him slowly.

"What did you do for a passport?" Light asked. L blinked and brought up his red passport. Light was even more interesting now. A red passport meant it was from Europe. Without waiting for any kind of reply, Light ripped the passport out of L's hands.

Light opened it up only to become disappointed. The name printed neatly on the passport was obviously an alias. In large black print under name it read 'John Smith'. Light sighed. L saw Light's disappointed look.

"I can assure you that is not my name, Kira-kun…" L said before nibbling on his thumb again while looking at the flight schedule. Light's eyes narrowed at the Kira comment. He grounded his teeth together.

"I'm not Kira, and I automatically assumed that wasn't your real name. Just give me the ticket already…" Light demanded finally having enough of this nonsense. L held out the crumpled papers he had pulled out of his pocket earlier. The young teen snatched the ticket out of L's hand and glanced at the ticket. His eyes widened in utter disbelief.

"Now that you're aware of where we are going, are you content?" L asked as he tilted his head to the side. Light was still in complete shock. His mouth hung up open like a dead fish that had just gotten its head chopped off.

"We're going to Germany?" Light stuttered out staring down at the ticket clenched in his hand. L tried not to smile at the bewildered teen standing in front of him.

"Ja, Wir gehen nach Deutschland (1)," L replied perfectly back to Light in German. Light blinked. The wheels in his mind turned and spun as they normally did, but absolutely nothing was coming to him.

"What did you just say?" Light asked completely confused. At this point, L did let the smile he was holding back come to the surface.

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_**The second chapter is complete. If you noticed the (1) earlier, that means I'll be putting the translations down here. YAY! I hope you're enjoying it. I do have fun writing these chapters. They're shorter than how I normally write chapters, probably because I write bigger than I type. Loll. Please review. It makes me happy. **_

_**Translations:**_

_**1 – Yes, We are going to Germany.**_


	3. The Friend

Light glared down the isle of the plane. It was about three in the morning in Japan judging by his watch, but he had no idea what time it was in Germany. Light's head was propped up on his left hand while he rested his arm on the plane arm-rest. In his other hand was a German phrase book he had managed to get last minute in the airport.

Light switched his glance to the strange man that had caused all this mess. L was staring out the plane window watching the night sky. He sucked on his thumb completely oblivious to Light's gaze. A laptop was set out on the plastic tray table in front of him.

"John. John… Ryuzaki!" Light bit out in a whisper. L needed to keep track of his own codenames. L turned in his seat to face Light and slowly took his thumb out of his mouth. L blinked.

"You are still awake, Yagami-kun?" L asked seemingly surprised the young boy was still up at this hour. Usually Light would complain constantly about the lack of sleep until L was forced to stop working in order to appease the teen attached to him.

"I have trouble falling asleep on planes, but that's not important. I just have a question. We're going to meet your friend at the airport, correct?" Light asked.

"Yes. He will be waiting for us in the terminal that his flight has arrived in," L answered back. This was one of the most civil conversations they had said to each other since the unpleasantness in the airport.

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_Somehow Light had been tricked in-between the squabble to actually check-in his luggage. He did not want to go to Germany. He had never had a desire to go to Germany, especially not with an eccentric irritating insomniac detective who went by the name of L._

_They were currently going through the airport security. Light slipped off his belt and placed it in the basket before walking through the metal detector. Light made it through on his very first try. L had a bit more trouble, however._

_Every time L walked through he set off the sensors in the metal detector. Then L would go back pull out some un-recognizable candy wrapper with half-melted candy inside and walk through again. This lasted a few minutes until the airport security guard got fed up and demanded that L just take out everything in his pocket. L couldn't understand the bodyguard's frustration, but did as he was told anyway._

_L went back again to the now irritable line of people waiting to get through the metal detector. He then proceeded to pull out an ungodly amount of various candies from his pocket. He placed them in the basket and then went through finally without setting off any alarms. The crowd of people in line behind him cheered with relief. L paid the crowd no mind as he recollected his candy and shoved it back in his pocket._

_Light sighed and crossed his arms in annoyance. He was embarrassed being with such an oddball. L walked up to him again and they were off. They continued through the airport until they stopped in the food court._

_"I will allow Yagami-kun five minutes without me to acquire food," L said simply before digging out some slightly less melted candy to munch on while he waited._

_"Whatever…" Light grounded out as he looked around at the various severely overpriced foods that the airport provided. Light started to hurry away from the detective in some random direction. He supposed this was his one moment of freedom._

_As Light shuffled along, he saw a book store in the distance. A brilliant idea came to him as he eyed the bookstore. He sped up to it with a look of determination now. He was going to purchase a German phrase book. He figured that the process of finding and buying the book would most likely be more than five minutes, but he didn't care. L could wait and he did, If only to scold Light for tardiness and give a percentage of suspicion. Light was not amused._

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A roaring sound was heard all around him. He felt his stomach lurch and his ears pop. Light blinked open his eyes and tried to adjust to the lights on the plane. He yawned. Apparently, he had actually managed to fall asleep.

"We are landing in Germany now…" L said from beside him. Light turned his head and looked out the window. Sadly all that could be seen from this height were scattered clouds and the patch-work pattern of land under them. It wasn't really anything exciting to see.

The plane landed without any trouble. L and Light departed from the plane and picked up their luggage. After going through customs briefly they were off to the terminal to pick up L's "friend".

To say Light was beyond curious would be an understatement. What kind of friend would L have? What would he look like? How old was he? Why would they choose to go with L to Germany?

That last question still puzzled Light in more ways than one. He was about to go to a country he relatively had no knowledge of. Plus he had absolutely none if only a minimal idea of the language spoken here. He vaguely wondered if L planned for this to happen. A glare was sent the detective's way.

They made it to the terminal where L's 'friend' was landing in. Light watched as people began to filter out of the entryway. He studied each of the faces that entered and wondered which of these people could possibly have anything to do with L. No-one in particular seem to catch his attention.

Suddenly a blur with blonde hair whisked by Light with seemingly lightning speed and attached itself to L's leg. The now stationary figure clung tightly to the detective in an affectionate way. It looked like a little kid.

"Who's the little girl?" Light asked curiously towards L. At that moment furious pointed blue-green eyes were on Light. Then a very distinct and angry sounding male voice came from the kid in perfect English.

"_Who the hell are you?_"

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Hmmmm? I wonder who on earth that could be. Lol. I hope you like it so far. God, these chapters are so short. I promise to you as soon as I finish writing the chapters from my travel Journal the others should be a lot longer. It's just the way I am. XD **REVIEW PLEASE OR I'LL SEND YOU TO SOME UNKOWN COUNTRY!**


	4. A Lesson Learned

"Ryuzaki…who is this kid?" Light asked with a certain fear that he already knew the answer to the question. The blonde-haired boy continued to glare at Light menacingly as he continued to cling to L.

"Ryuzaki?" questioned the boy as he stopped glaring long enough to look up at L curiously. L nodded his head and started walking off to the side to get out of the way of the other people in the airport, suitcase once again being dragged at the awkward angle behind him. The other two followed him still wanting answers that had yet to be answered.

"_Ryuzaki is the name I am currently using for the Kira investigation_" L explained to the blonde-haired boy in English before turning to Light, "As you might have already determined by your excellent perception skills, this is the 'friend' I mentioned earlier. His name is Mello,"

"_Why the hell is this loser coming on the trip with us? It was just supposed to be you and me. I don't want this wannabe Abercrombie model along for the ride_," Mello said angrily in English. Light's left eye twitched and he gave Mello a death glare.

"_You do realize that I can understand most of what you're saying can't you?_" Light bit back at Mello. The blonde bad-ass just ignored Light and continued to pay attention to L. The insomniac sighed and prepared to explain.

"_When I made the promise the only rule you strongly specified was that Near by no means was allowed to come. The reason Yagami-kun is accompanying us it that he is my main suspect in the Kira case, and I must personally observe him for any suspicious behavior at all times. I also ask that you not use such strong language,_" L said calmly.

Mello huffed and crossed his arms. His blue-green eyes glared pointedly at Light. Light glared right back with just as much force. L could already tell this would be an interesting trip. Light's and Mello's personality were very similar in some ways. They would both fight to their fullest to win whatever battle they have just started.

"So now I can blame Kira for ruining my birthday," Mello snapped as he pointed an accusing finger at Light with one arm still crossed. Light clenched his fist tightly. The young man was growing tired of this already.

"I'm not Ki―" Light began, but was cut off by L before he could continue.

"We have no time right now for Kira-kun to falsely defend himself. We must go pick up your luggage Mello," L said. Light wanted to protest, but found that L and Mello were already headed in the direction of where the luggage claim most likely was. Light sprinted after them.

Now that they were in Germany, Light felt completely out of his element. He was used to being in charge of a situation and knowing exactly what was going on. This was not the case here. In truth for the first time in his entire life, Light currently had no idea what was going on.

All of the signs were in German. Also being in the area of international arrivals, all kinds of different languages were being spoken. Light was at that moment following L and an irritating annoying blonde in some random direction very quickly in fear that he would get left behind. It made him feel out of control and he hated it.

The reached the luggage claim area again a few minutes later. Mello grabbed his bag as soon as it appeared on the coveter belt. The three prepared to leave the airport now. A question that had been plaguing Light even before he had met Mello whirled in his head. He supposed he could suffer a minute or two to ask the blonde a question.

_"Out of all the places to go, why pick Germany?" _Lightdirectedhis question at Mello. The younger boy looked over at Light like he was crazy, but decided to answer his question anyway.

"Ich war in Deutschland geboren. Natürlich würde ich zu meinem Mutterland gehen wollen (1)" Mello answered back in German to see how Light would react. When Light said nothing and gazed over at L with a look of desperation, Mello gained new knowledge. A devious smile crept onto his face, "Er kann nicht Deutsch sprechen (2),"

Light was worried now when after he hadn't said anything to Mello that the blonde had broken out into a rather eerie grin appeared on his face before he said something. Light continued to look at L seemingly begging for an answer.

"Ryuzaki, what did he say?" Light asked looking at the detective. He hated asking, but he had to. At that moment Light realized with horror that he might have to depend on L this whole trip. L gained a smile of his own and Light knew that L had come to the same conclusion.

"Mello explained the reason he chose to come here was because he was born here," L answered Light keeping the smile on his face. Light frowned. He could already tell he most likely would not enjoy this trip.

From the airport the trio drove in a taxi. When they had climbed in, L had speedily told the drive something in German and then they were off. Through several winding streets later they arrived to their destination. When the three stepped out of the taxi, Light stared at the building in front of him.

"A youth hostel, Ryuzaki? That seems completely unlike you. Aren't you like overly obsessive with privacy?" Light asked as he looked at L as if the detective had somehow made some huge mistake.

"Yes, but I wished for us to have a true German experience. Also, no-one here has any idea as to who I am, so I have nothing to fear," L said simply.

"Well then this should be different from the norm. I'm used to the Ryuzaki experience which features triple-locked doors, awkwardly close surveillance, and flying false accusations," Light bit out sarcastically. After those words left his mouth Light felt a swift kick to his right shin. Light bent over in pain as he grasped his leg.

"Don't talk to him that way you freaking ass wipe," Mello shouted at Light. Light was surprised and not very pleased. Not only had he been kicked by this Blondie, but apparently the little bastard knew Japanese too. Mello was satisfied with the look on Light's until he felt a slight whack to the back of his head.

"Language Mello. Come on we must be going inside now to check-in," L said with no look of concern for either of his companions.

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It was loud, crowded, and filled with dubious tourists. The air was permeated with foreign smells and words. Light clutched his German phrase book closer to his body. A deep from was spread out on his face.

The trio had dropped everything off in the youth hostel after much arguing over who would sleep where. They had gotten a room in the youth hostel with a bunk-bed and a single bed. Although, the room was so small it was barely comfortable for one person.

The problem over who slept where arose when both Mello and Light fought over who would get the top bunk. This had lasted a while until L got tired of them arguing and told Light to sleep on the single bed, and L himself would get the top bunk. By sleeping on the top bunk, it would be all the easier to observe Light.

Light took some time to complain a bit more about it, but Mello complied almost immediately. When they were all finally settled it was demanded by L that they find the closest local candy store, and because of this Light now stood in his current situation.

Currently, Light was completely lost. When the three had stepped into the two square it seemed like people had swarmed in at all sides pushing from left and right. In the chaos of it all, Light had gotten separated from the other two.

His face didn't show it, but on the inside he was having a panic attack. There were many reasons for this inner panic. One, Light couldn't speak the language. Two, he had absolutely no idea where he was. Three, he had no way to contact L. And lastly, he had forgotten the name of their youth hostel. Thus the inner panic attack continued.

Light attempted to push through people to find a less crowded spot. Once he did, Light quickly flipped open his German phrase book to the back where the translations were. When Light found he was looking for he tried the new word on his tongue.

"Fur-lore-in…" Light spoke slowly. The real word was 'verloren', but Light had just sounded the word out as the book instructed it on how to be said. The word meant 'lost'. Light thought the word most appropriate for his current situation.

After figuring out that much, Light went back to another part of the book that explained how to say 'I am'. Once Light found what he was looking for he prepared to talk to a local. Light gazed around him. After assessing the surrounding area, Light determined he should probably talk to someone his own age.

"Ich bin verloren," Light said slowly in order to be understood. After the words left his lips a long silent pause took place between Light and the local. A strange look was on the local boy's face until he finally started laughing loudly.

Light became frustrated after this reaction and walked off away from the howling boy. Now he was embarrassed and still lost. Light decided to ask someone else for help. He figured anyone would be more helpful than that boy.

However, every time Light would ask a different person they'd either give him a weird look or laugh like the boy had done. Each time Light left before any explanation as to why they had reacted that way could be given. Eventually Light gave up on asking anyone for help.

It would be three hours later when L found Light sitting in a chair at a café. Light L did not look too pleased in the least. An irritated Mello stood behind the insomniac. Light turned to them as he took a sip from some tea he had managed to order.

"Light-kun… my suspicion only rises when my main suspect tries to flee," L said with an angry tone that seemed to hold just a tinge of worry. Mello glared at Light silently with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I wasn't fleeing. I was lost!" Light shot back.

"If that is true than would it not be the logical thing to attempt to find us or ask for help?" L asked with a sour look.

"I did look! I tried asking for help too in German! All people did though was either stare at me like I was some freak or laugh their heads off," Light grumbled back. L's face softened and he brought his thumb up to his face as he nibbled on it.

"What exactly did Light think he was saying? Or trying to?" L inquired. Light sighed. He took a moment to think about what he was about to say before spouting out the patchwork sentence he had come up with earlier.

"Ich bin verloren (3)," Light said a little less confidently. Mello's scowl turned into a smile before the younger boy burst into laughter. Light glowered. L nodded his head as a small smile came to his face.

"I now see Light's problem. Not only is that sentence grammatically incorrect, but it has a different meaning than you believe it to be. Light-kun… you've been recalling to the locals your lack of sanity,"

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Another chapter for you to enjoy. I hoped you liked it. **Please Review!**

**Translations:**

1 – I was born in Germany. Naturally I would want to come back to my mother land.

2- He can't speak German…

3- I am lost or I have lost myself (Gone crazy)


	5. The Shower

They were back at the youth hostel cramped into the tiny room. It was later in the evening now. After Light had been found, the three had gone to a small candy store and stocked up. Mello and L ended the trip with two large bags of sweets.

L currently wasn't in the room. He was at this time scouting the public bathroom in the youth hostel for free showers, leaving Mello and Light by themselves. The younger of the two left in the room glared angrily at Light as he took a chunk out of his candy bar. Light made a look of disgust and focused his attention out the window.

"We almost didn't get any chocolate, because you had to go get your happy ass lost," Mello commented out of the blue before taking off another bite of his chocolate bar. Light turned to gaze back to the blonde. Mello chewed noisily on his chocolate with mouth open, because he knew it totally bothered Mr. Perfect Boy.

"What do you mean by that?" Light shot back in annoyance. He could barely stand L. He was not going to take crap from this brat. Mello swallowed the chocolate he had been working on. He licked his lips and then placed the candy bar beside him.

"When you disappeared L got really upset. I've never seen him like that. We searched non-stop for you and we didn't stop to get chocolate at all…" Mello drawled. Light was surprised. It sounded like the detective really cared about him.

"He was worried about me?" Light asked curiously as he turned more of his attention to the blonde. Mello shifted on the bottom bunk and laid his head down. He clicked his tongue before answering Light.

"Well. I'd be worried too. I mean if I lost a physco killer I'd frantically search for him…" Mello answered as a mischievous smile came to his face. Light frowned deeply at the response and the conversation ended there.

L returned from the bathroom a few minutes later. He noticed the tension in the room as soon as he walked in. Mello seemed to be in his own little world as he ignored Light completely, while Light sneered every once in a while at Mello every time the chocoholic added another chocolate wrapper to the pile accumulating beside his bed.

"Collect what you need for the bathroom. There are five showers, but only four are available at this time," L informed the other occupants of the room, and then started to nibble on his thumb.

Light quickly got his things together and headed to the shower as fast as he could. He wanted to be in the shower before L and the brat got there. Plus, Light didn't particularly find public bathrooms all that appealing.

Sure, he had them in Japan. He was also used to the showers at school. It was just the thought of showering with someone he'd never met and get naked in front of them. Light had narrowly avoided that situation while being attached to L thanks to his father's disapproval of it. More importantly he didn't want to see anyone else naked. Light shuddered at the thought of some large burly German man in his eye-sight.

Once inside the bathroom Light stripped down to his boxers and grabbed his towel. He stepped into one of the empty shower stalls. As soon as he was in the stall, Light slipped off his boxers and hung them over the shower curtain bar along with his towel.

Light turned around to face the shower head. He stared in front of him in confusion. There were no shower knobs, but one large button instead. Light just shrugged and pressed the button. Freezing cold water spurted out of the shower head. Light let out a small gasp of surprise. He hoped the water would warm up a bit, but he doubted it.

Light sighed as he stood in the freezing cold water. He figured he might get used to it after a while. He hoped so at least. Light reached down and picked up the shampoo he had brought with him. Right as he was about to squirt a tiny bit of shampoo in his hand the water decided to stop.

"What?" Light grumbled annoyed. He put his shampoo bottle in one hand as he slammed the other hand down on the button once again. The ice water assaulted his skin with just as bitter cold as the first time.

Light managed to get the shampoo in his hair the next time when the water shut off. Several foul words escaped his mouth as he slammed the button again. This continued a couple more minutes until Light could no longer stand it.

"Ryuzaki!" Light yelled out in frustration as he pulled back the shower curtain slightly with a bit of force. The sight that caught his eyes when he did this made his head snap back so fast he was sure he had whip-lash. The only thought in Light's mind now was 'Way worse than the burly German…'

"What is it you need Yagami-kun?" L asked simply as he continued to stand there in all his naked glory. He didn't seem the least bit embarrassed about being seen. Light held back a blush and lowered his head till he was eye-level with L. Light willed himself not to look down.

"I think the shower is broken. It shut off by itself for what seems like every five seconds," Light spoke through his teeth. He spoke this way due to the before frustration and he was still recovering from the shock of what he had just seen. L scratched his leg leisurely with his opposite foot.

"That is supposed to happen. They do it for water conservation. I assumed you would know that," L said as he studied the strange look on Light's face. Light nodded his head, but made sure his eyes were focused on the ceiling.

"Ah. I see…" Light replied back and then he proceeded to close his shower curtain fully again. Light turned his head back to the shower wall. He then smacked his head against, which of course was severely painful. However, Light was too focused on other things.

'Oh Dear God!' was the mantra being repeated over and over in Light's head. Why did he have to see that of all things? He would have preferred the burly German to that. He was going to have nightmares about seeing L naked, he just knew it. Worse still, the bastard was bigger than him!

It was not like anything he imagined L's body type would look like. Not that he spent his time wondering what L looked like naked, but it was not what he expected. L was actually fairly well-built. It annoyed Light.

Underneath all that baggy clothing was a slim athletic build. The guy had at least a two-pack going! Light had no idea where that body came from. That body should not belong to someone like L. He shouldn't be that attractive…

Light's mind whirred at that point. His thoughts were wandering into dangerous and unexplored territory. He shook his head roughly to get those ideas out of his head. With a long sigh, Light hit the shower button again.

An hour later Light was shuffling around in his suitcase doing his best to try to ignore L and his 'friend'. Light thought of Mello as more of a Gnat than anything else. A little pest buzzing around until it found something sweet like fruit—or chocolate.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Mello growled at Light. That remark slightly startled Light. He hadn't realized he had been staring at the little brat. Light gazed back down at his suitcase as he slowly zipped it back up.

"Nothing really. Just a pest…" Light hottily replied back to the younger boy. Mello seemed to almost visually bristle like a cat at the comment. The candy bar in his hand crumbled slightly.

"Why you son of a bi—" Mello was cut short as L whacked him in the head. While Mello nursed his head, L gave him a disapproving look. After L finished scolding Mello about language he turned his attention to Light.

"I suggest you not call Mello a pest either. Well then, on to more important things. I wish to discuss the schedule for tomorrow," L said. Light turned away from L and nodded his head.

"Fine with me…" Light said still not facing L. For some reason it was hard to face the detective now. Every time Light did look at L, he envisioned the insomniac naked. Light suppressed a shudder.

"Yes. Tomorrow will wake up promptly at 6:00 am and get prepared for the day. We shall depart from the hostel around 7:00 am. Then we shall partake in a six-hour bike ride tour around the city," L listed the days activities in order. The one item that caught Light's attention on the schedule was the last one, however.

"A six hour bike ride?" asked Light incredulously. He finally had his full attention on L for the first time since the bathroom incident earlier. L simply nodded his head as he slinked into the top bunk.

"Yes. I suggest you rest well. Tomorrow could prove to be tiring," L responded to Light as he stared down at him from his perch on the top bunk. Light shook his head and approached the bunk bed. He rested his hands on the side of the bed and looked directly into L's owl-like eyes.

"Are you saying you don't find a six hour bike ride a little overwhelming after just getting here?" Light argued. He felt a kick at his shins. With a hiss on his lips, Light looked down to the blonde-haired demon child sitting on the bottom bunk snaking away on a snickers.

"What are you? A Pansy? Maybe you should go home weakling…" Mello said sharply as he tilted his chin confidently into the air. Light held back his murderous intentions, which was probably a good move due to him currently being under suspicion of being a mass murderer. All Light could do was gnash his teeth in silent rage for now.

"As I said before, Perhaps now is a good time to go to sleep," L said as he took notice of the almost sinister look in Light's eyes. Mello just smiled cheekily at Light as he waved him off and away from his bed. Light said nothing and stomped over to his single bed.

Light flopped down on the bed and turned his back on the other two people in the room. A sigh left Light's mouth as he closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep. It was only the first day and he was ready to go home.

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This chapter is dedicated to a long time reader, Nicole. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Sadly, no German today. But don't worry! There shall be more German words and phrases for my lovely readers to learn soon! And remember…**REVIEW!**


	6. The Tour

Light was being persistently prodded by something as he tried to sleep. He had never been so tired in his entire life. Why couldn't whatever was bothering just go away? Light flipped his pillow over his head to block out the light that was seeping in around him. A disgruntled grunt was heard beside him as the prodding stopped. A sigh of content left Light's lips. Good. It was gone now.

"Hey Abercrombie Princess get your ass out of bed!" came a yell right into Light's ear. The Kira suspect belted out of bed screaming. He was now standing in the middle of his single bed towering over Mello, who had so _nicely _taken the initiative to wake him up.

"What the hell!? I swear to god I'll kill you…" Light growled as he glared down at the younger boy.

"You are now up to twenty-one percent for threatening an innocent child with death," L spoke from his spot on the top bunk as he continued to type away on his laptop. Light gnashed his teeth together as he hopped off his bed and over to the bunk bed.

"That little demon is anything but an innocent child," Light growled angrily as he gripped the side of the bunk bed. Light checked to make sure that Mello was no-where in kicking range and found the younger boy had left the room, apparently. Light turned back to L, whom was still ignoring Light for the most part as he picked at the keys.

"No matter how much Kira-kun complains he will not accomplish anything if he does not prepare for the day ahead. I suggest you get dressed quickly if you wish to have a brief breakfast this morning," L said as he clicked his laptop shut and slipped it in its carrying case.

"Whatever… I still don't understand how you can be so 'perky' enough this morning to throw out a percentage at me," Light grumbled pushing away from the bunk bed and trudging over to his suitcase.

"Being an insomniac does have its advantages at times when dealing with the power that is jet lag," L answered matter of fact-ly as he slid off the top bunk and placed his feet gently on the ground. The detective scratched his head leisurely with his hand. He walked over to Light who was busying himself in his suitcase. L stopped right behind Light. A moment later Light spoke up.

"Do you need somethin—What are you wearing?" Light said noticing for the first time as he turned around to face L that the detective was currently sporting a short sleeved shirt. It was still an overly large and baggy white t-shirt, but it was short sleeved t-shirt none the less. Light now had a perfect view of L's slender pale arms.

"Even though it will be slightly cool outside, I don't wish to overheat on the bike ride. I thought it best to wear this rather than my normal attire, because of this" L said as he stopped scratching his head and laid his arm by his side.

"Right, so what was it you originally wanted?" Light asked as he pulled out an outfit for today. L adjusted his position to where he was now standing right beside Light. His owl-like eyes focused on his prime suspect.

"I am aware you and Mello do not particularly get along, but for his benefit although mostly for my own I ask that you try to be a bit kinder to him. This trip is mainly for the soul purpose of the celebration of his day of birth. My only wish is that it is a pleasant one," L said seriously to Light. Light let out a sigh.

"I'll try my best…"

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"Yagami-kun do not let me regret not using the handcuffs to keep us together, because you decided to wander off again," L said as he licked on a lolli-pop he had acquired from his pocket. Light mumbled something rather angry sounding under his breath and picked up his pace as he followed closely behind L.

"How much longer do you think it will take till we arrive at the meeting place for the bike riding tour?" Mello asked from beside L as he took a rather large hunk from a rather delectable looking Milka Bar. The three had left the hotel about 15 minutes ago and were now going by foot to the bike ride tour.

"We should be arriving there shortly. Also, I signed us up for the English tour for Light's benefit. I figured it might be a bit more enjoyable if he understood some of what was going on," L answered back. Mello groaned and swung his head back in dramatics.

"_Man. I can't believe we're taking the tour in English. I feel so cheated. Why did we have to wimp out and go the easy way? Knowing we're taking the English tour, we're bound to be grouped with some gaggle of idiots. God… I hope they're not American. This is all your fault pansy man_!" Mello pointedly growled the last part at Light.

The Kira suspect could do nothing but ground his teeth. Light remembered L's request from earlier this morning and was doing his best to try to do it. Although, keeping up this nice guy act with Satan's child was taking a toll on him.

The three finally arrived at the meeting place where a large group had already started gather. A rather enthusiastic ginger-haired man stood in the center of the crowd, while waving his arm randomly in various directions as he talked animatedly. He noticed the trio coming and waved them over.

"_Hello everyone, I believe we're all here. My name is Adam. Now if you'd all follow me to the bikes' and then we can get this fantastical time-travel historical adventure bike ride tour! Oh it's going to be fabulous!" _ The ginger-haired exclaimed happily as he began walking into a random direction as the group followed him in a large blob-like mob.

"This guy is gay…" Mello whispered over to L. The detective looked up and over at the ever so perky tour guide who was bothering on something or other that had no historical value. He blinked his large owl-like eyes.

"Yes, our tour guide is rather too happy for my liking," L replied back to Mello. Light opened his mouth wide in disbelief and gazed over at L. Light prepared to speak out his thoughts.

"Ryuzaki, I don't think that's what he means—"

"_Okay everyone. Here are the bikes. I suggest getting a bike that best fits your height, so it will be a comfortable ride. We also have some women's bikes for the ladies in the group. Also for the young man in the back there I have a kids bike_," Adam said gesturing toward Mello at the end when mentioning the kid's bike.

Mello sighed and walked off to claim his lame kid's bike. He would be thirteen in like two days. Why couldn't people treat him like the teenager he was? He was most likely more mature and more intelligent than the majority of people in this group anyway. Why be marked as 'the kid' right off the back. Idiots…

"Um Ryuzaki…I don't see any back-pedal bikes," Light said as he gazed around at the various bikes. He had found some that matched his height, but he wasn't sure he would be able to ride them.

"What does Light-kun mean by back-pedal bike? And why is it important enough for him to give out the information that there are none in his general line of vision?" L asked curiously as he studied the somewhat worried expression on Light's face.

"I mean a back-pedal bike. You know one that brakes when you pedal backwards? All I see here are handle-brake bikes. I haven't ridden a bike in awhile, let alone ever ridden on a handle-brake bike before. What am I supposed to do?" Light asked still scouring around in hopes of finding a back-pedal bike.

"_Is there a problem here? Can I help you fellows out? Need any assistance in finding a bike? There's a nice red one over there, How about that one?_" Adam, the overly exubrent tour guide, said as he walked towards Light and L.

"_My companion apparently requires some sort of back-pedal bike. Do you have one that he may use?_" L asked before popping his lollipop back into his mouth so he could finish it off. Light watched as L and Adam conversed with one another.

A minute or two later Adam walked off to assist other people in the group. With one last crunch, L finished his lollipop and tossed his stick on the ground. Light waited as patiently as he could for L to say something and than finally spoke up.

"I didn't catch everything you guys said. Did you manage to get me a back-pedal bike?" Light asked L after getting somewhat annoyed that he had stood off to the wayside while the other two had talked over it in English. L shook his head.

"No. This touring company does not carry back-pedal bikes. Although I assure you that you'll be quite fine. The concept of handle-brakes is not that difficult to understand. You simply pull on the brake with your hands and the bike will stop. I find it is intuition mostly or common sense, whichever you prefer…," L said digging out another lollipop as he walked over to a rather large silver bike.

Light frowned deeply at this new information given to him, but said nothing. He tromped over to one of the closest bikes and inspected it. The bike seemed to match his height decently. Light reached one of his hands over to one of the handle brakes. He gave it a quick squeeze and suddenly a foreboding feeling came over him. That couldn't be a good sign…

Adam happily helped everyone out for the last few minutes before they were off. He held that annoying toothy grin that at times screamed creepy clown. Then the jolly tour guide would laugh and crack a bad joke. After everyone had found their respective bikes, the tour was off.

Mello shot off on his bike effortlessly right behind Adam who led the way. Then a few other random tourists rode between him and L. The detective had opted staying a tad behind the rest of the group. For one, L didn't really want to exert that much energy anyway. Secondly, he had to keep an eye on his suspect who was slowly wobbling away on his bike.

Due to Light's unvoiced lack of confidence riding a bicycle that was not a back-pedal bike, he went on his way as carefully as possible. He watched as the rest of the tour group soured ahead of him with the exception of L, of course. Light determined the insomniac probably got joy from him struggle.

"I believe if you pedal at a faster speed the bike will travel more steadily. Also, we might be able to actually enjoy the tour if Yagami-kun would not be going at such a dragging pace," L said turning his head back to look at Light. The younger man seemed to have a fire burst in his eyes. He pedaled just hard enough to where he was riding right beside L.

"Don't talk to me like that. I'm just a little concerned about braking. What if they don't work and I run into someone?" Light asked with a slightly strained voice. L tilted his head to the side, but kept his eyes on Light. The insomniac continued to ride with ease, making it look like it was the most natural thing in the world for him.

"Ah. If that is the case then Yagami-kun will be happy to know that bicycles have the right-of-way in Germany. So if any poor unsuspecting pedestrians do get in your way, they will be the ones at fault if they get hit. Then Kira-kun can get away with a murder just this once," L said in an almost bored tone. Light was seething now.

"You bastar—"

"_Alrighty Everyone! We'll being crossing the street now! Please watch for cars! And away we go!_" came a cheery yell from in front of the two geniuses. Adam was waving the tourists across one of the main streets while the cross-walk light still blinked green. Light and L sped up their bikes very quickly to catch the cross-walk light.

They just barely made it. This would have been a wondrous thing except for one slight detail. There was a ditch on the other side of the street right off the sidewalk. Light's eyes widened in horror as he frantically attempted to pedal backwards with no avail. L watched as the scene began to unfold in front of him.

"Light-kun pull the handle-brake!" L yelled at the teen. Light somehow managed to register L's words at the last second and did as he was told. Light pulled the right handle-break as hard as he could. A yelp escaped his lips as the rime-brake clenched the front tire and the front end of the bike began to tip forward. The crowd watched in horror-struck awe as Light's bike completely flipped over and into the ditch.

It was forty minutes later now. The tour waswell on its way now. Adam was back to his perky self as he talked about how the golden murals always pointed west, because the king wanted that way or whatever. Light was sitting on the steps resting. He checked the bandage that was covering his scraped knee and then checked the one on his elbow. He sighed and moved around placing his elbows gently on the steps. He was still sore.

"I forgot to mention these earlier, but nice moves. You should have seen the look on your face when you ate it," Mello said as he walked over to Light cackling. Light glowered, but he kept his mouth shut tight. He sent Mello a death glare, but the kid seemed unaffected by it. Mello left Light with a few more snide remarks before walking off to listen to what Adam had to say.

Light groaned as he put his face in his hands. This day by far was one of the worst he had ever had. He couldn't see how it could get any worse than this. A loud smacking noise broke Light's train of thought. He looked up to find L hovering over him with a lollipop that he continued to push in and push out of his mouth. L stopped his actions when he saw Light was about to speak.

"I honestly don't know how much more I can stand Ryuzaki. I'm being as civil with your little demon friend as much as I can. I almost died riding that stupid bike earlier, because apparently my 'intuition' wasn't strong enough…" Light said in a frustrated voice. L lowered the hand with his lollipop at his side. A face, similar to the one he had worn when telling Light that he was the first friend he had ever had, came to his face.

"Durch Geduld und Arbeitsamkeit kommt man zum Ziel (1)," L said with somewhat of an accent. Light looked up at him curiously.

"What does that mean?" Light asked.

"It means for the most part that you'll get through this. If you can't get through a simple trip Light-kun, I fear that you'll never achieve anything in the Kira investigation," L said before sticking the lollipop back into his mouth. Light sighed again and then slowly started to stand up.

"I guess I'll consider those some sort of words of encouragement. Thanks Ryuzaki," Light said walking back to his now slightly bent bike. L said nothing to Light and continued to suck on his lollipop. His owl-like eyes followed Light as he walked away.

"_OKAY EVERYONE! We'll be seeing one or two more things and then we'll be stopping for lunch at this fabulous biergarten (2) that I love. Alrighty then. Everyone get on your bikes. And our little survivor man over there, let's all give him a hand,_" Adam said smiling before looking over at Light. L and Mello watched with amusement as Light was applauded for his earlier stupidity.

After that the tour was off again. Light was even more cautious than the first time he had started this excursion. Every few seconds he would pull the left handle brake (which apparently is the correct brake to pull so you don't flip bike over) and he kept at a slow, but decent pace. L stayed behind with him again.

They took in some more sites of the city. Light had to admit that this was fairly interesting. He knew a little bit about German history, but mostly about wars. So to a certain extent, he was actually starting to enjoy himself. Adam was currently asking the group what they knew of the 'fairytale king'. L grumbled something beside him as they stood over their bikes as they stopped.

"What's with you?" Light asked as he shifted his legs into a more comfortable standing position. L turned his eyes to Light. The detective had an annoyed look on his face, which somewhat confused Light.

"I find our tour guide to be incompetent. If he has to ask questions about what we're learning than obviously he does not have a sufficient knowledge of history," L said. Light blinked. Was L really that oblivious to how tours worked?

"Ryuzaki—" Light never managed to get a word in as the strange man beside him flung his arm into the air. It took a minute for Light to realize that L was raising his hand. Adam immediately took notice of L's raised hand.

_"I am aware of some information about this 'fairytale king'," L_ said simply lowering his arm. Adam's face brightened.

_"Oh! Than by all means please tell us what tidbit you may know of this particular king," _Adam said smiling. L breathed in deeply for a moment before speaking.

"_The fairytale king was King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Although, in English he is usually referred to as the Swan King. This was of course due to his love of that particular bird, which he featured prominently in his castle of Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein was considered to be his fantasy castle and one of the most extravagant. It stands on a cliff that overlooks the 'Swan Lake'. Ludwig II was a man who enjoyed architecture and art. He died mysteriously after being diagnosed with mental illness_," L said with precision and accuracy, while still managing to keep a bored expression.

The tour group went silent. Many of the people in it could only gape. For the first time that day, Adam was left speechless. The cheerful guide wasn't even smiling. His face was just blank. Light could only switch from looking at the shocked tour group and then back to L. Clapping broke the silence.

"AWESOME!" Mello said as he continued to clap. He did idolize the man that had been talking. L shifted uncomfortably. He didn't really like all these people staring at him. Finally a little after Mello's outburst the group got back onto their bikes. It was time for lunch.

The bike ride to the restaurant was relatively calm and quiet. They arrived outside the restaurant in about five minutes. Adam instructed the group to leave their bikes on the bike rack and then the group headed inside.

Adam requested for to large long tables. The waitress nodded and led them to two tables in the middle of the restaurant. As of right now, the place was crowded and busy. Tourists from all over filled its walls. L regrettably had to sit normally in order to fit everyone from the tour group at the first table, while the rest poured over to the other one.

The waitress began to pass out menus as Adam animatedly talked about how great the beer was here. As soon as Light received his menu a frown marred his face. He should have expected this. The menu of course was written entirely in German.

Light turned to L who apparently already had decided what he wanted with a quick glance at the menu. Mello on the other hand was looking at everything very carefully as he decided what he wanted. L noticed Light looking at him.

"Is there something you need Yagami-kun?" L asked as he pushed his menu off to the side. Light pushed down his pride and cleared his throat. He opened up his menu and laid it out in front of L.

"Ryuzaki. I can't read the menu. Could you…Can you…help me read it?" Light asked slightly embarrassed. He couldn't believe he was doing this. The smug look that L gained as he asked wasn't helping the situation be any less embarrassing.

"It is no problem Light-kun. I do not mind," L said as he stood up and got out of the bench. Light watched as the detective moved to where he hovered over Light. The way L stood was a bit deeper than his normal slouch as he hunched over Light's shoulder.

Light felt a bit awkward now. L's head was eerily close to his now. He could feel as the detective black locks brushed against his own auburn hair. L would point at something on the menu and first say the German name and then give the Japanese equivalent. Each time L spoke Light could feel his breath on his ear. It was slightly unnerving and Light shifted uncomfortably.

Mello found what he wanted and looked up to say something to his idol. When he noticed L's absence he looked around bewildered. His eyes found themselves focused on the scene of L talking softly to Light a moment later. Mello was steamed. He slammed his menu on the table startling almost everyone who was sitting there. L stood up straighter and looked at his heir.

"Was ist los, Mello (3)?" L asked. Most of the table turned their attention back to what they had been doing after L spoke. Mello glowered as he tapped his fingers in a continuous rhythm on his menu.

"It's my birthday. I think I deserve the attention from you rather than some Kira suspect. Let him suffer by himself. It's his fault for getting himself into this mess. He had to decide to Kira…" Mello grumbled childishly. Light clenched his fists under the table, while L looked from Light to Mello.

"It's fine Ryuzaki. I think I know what I want anyway. Just go to the little brat—I mean darling child. I'm sure he'll appreciate your company more than I would anyway," Light bit out as he propped the menu in front of his face to hide his scowl. That kid was getting on his nerves.

L simply nodded his head and got back into his seat. Mello smirked as L sat beside him again. Damn straight. After everyone had settled back down the Waitress came over to take their orders. She went down the table to every person. Light was actually somewhat pleased in the group to notice that a lot of people in the group knew about as much German as he did. Finally she got the end of the table where the three geniuses sat.

"What would you like to eat?" the waitress asked in strongly accented English.

"Ich möchte Erdbeeremarmeladebrot mit Honig und ein Apfelstrudel, bitte (4)," L said effortlessly with a smile on his face. Light guessed that the detective most likely ordered some very sugary dessert. It wasn't hard to say that the assumption was most likely not wrong as the insomniac ate nothing but sweets.

The waitress smiled as she jotted down on her little note-pad what L had ordered. It seemed Germans enjoyed it when someone attempted to speak their language. Mello ordered next and the waitress wrote down a few more things. Light was actually somewhat nervous now when the waitress turned and looked at him expectantly.

"Bratu-virst (bratwurst)," Light said slowly a little bit unsure of himself. The waitress stared at him for a moment till it seemed she finally understood what Light had been trying to say. She wrote the last order down and walked away.

"That was adorable…" Mello said snidely.

"Shut up!"

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The meal was relatively good. L had practically devoured his Apple Strudel and whatever that other thing was, Mello had eaten something that looked similar to Chicken Fried Steak, and Light for the most part enjoyed the sausage he had eaten. When the individual bills came back, Light wasn't very happy anymore.

"What!? They charged me for every time that I had my drink refilled?" Light asked as he stared down at the hefty check in front of him. He had been thirsty earlier and had managed to down about four glasses of water, which led to his current predicament.

"There's no such thing as free re-fills in Germany, Dumb Ass…" Mello said as he finished off the last of his chocolate cake that he had gotten for dessert. Light glared over at the younger boy, but kept his mouth shut this time. L had already gotten mad at him for shouting 'shut up' earlier.

"Well thanks for telling me that before I drank all that water…" Light muttered under his breath as he dug in his pocket for his wallet. He brought it out and opened it up. Taking out what he needed as well as a tip, he set out the money on the table. The exchange rate here was going to kill him. A sigh left his lips.

"If Light-kun is that upset about paying I could spot the bill for him," L offered out of nowhere. Light glanced over at him curiously. Was this some kind of weird test to prove he was Kira? Or was L really just randomly being generous? The detective had been acting rather decent to him recently for some strange reason.

"No. I don't really mind that much. I'm going to go the restroom," Light said as he slid off the bench. L nodded his head as a sign he was allowing the other young man the privilege to use the restroom by himself. Light walked off.

A few minutes later the three met up again at the front of the building where the rest of the tour group had been collecting. Mello bit a piece of the chocolate bar he had brought with him for the day. The chocolate bar was slightly melted by now, but he didn't mind. Light came back from the bathroom seemingly annoyed.

"What is it this time pansy? They didn't have your favorite scented soap or something?" Mello bit out. He was staring to get tired of Light's complain. It seemed to be the only thing the Abercrombie Princess did most of the time.

"You didn't tell we had to pay for the bathrooms too," Light said.

"You never asked," Mello retorted.

"Well Yagami-kun, it's a cultural difference I suppose you'll have to get used to. In Germany they have bathroom attendants that you can tip or give a minimal fee. It keeps the bathrooms clean and sanitary," L commented.

Light sighed. He was ready for this day to be over. Actually, he was ready for this vacation to be over. After the brief conversation between the three of them, Adam announced for the group to collect their bikes and they'd be off again.

The tour group was visiting just a few more stops. Although, most could tell a change was already present. Adam was even more happier than before. People that didn't seem all that cheerful at the beginning of the trip now were. The bikes were starting to weave a little here and there. Mello finally pointed out the obvious.

"I think some of these people are drunk," Mello said as he narrowly avoided getting hit by one of the overly happy people as they swerved on their bike. L rode his bike a little bit up to be level with Mello.

"What makes you say that?" L asked.

_"Alright. We actually have a few minutes of unscheduled time. Any suggestions on what we should do?" _Adam yelled out down the row of bikes. A few cheers were heard and one fairly large man in the back shouted.

_"Let's smoke crack!!" _said the large man loudly. A lot of people in the group laughed and some cheered on the man. Adam gained a particularly big smile on his face as he stopped his bike and waved his arms excitedly.

_"Alright! First were going to do some crack. Then we're going to ride our bikes up that steep cliff. Then we'll leave our bikes there and they'll turn into trees. Then we'll fly back to the restaurant!_" yelled Adam with enthusiasm.

(A/N: Scary and funny only b/c one of my tour guides in Germany actually said this to my group. XD)

"Yeah. I'd say their drunk," Light said blandly. Some people in the group didn't know whether to laugh or be worried that their tour guide had spouted out such a thing. For the most part, the three geniuses just ignored it.

After the drunken bouts about crack the tour was off again. Needless to say all the suggestions by Adam never actually happened. The tour group eventually made it back the original meeting point. Some of the tourists were disappointed to be back so soon, while others were relieved. It wasn't too hard to guess which category Light fell into.

"Well thank god that's over," Light said as he parked his bike for the last time that day. Without a glance back at the object that had caused him pain and embarrassment, Light headed over to L. The detective was scratching his head, but stopped when Light approached.

"I assume Yagami-kun is ready to head back to the hotel?" L asked.

"You have no idea…"

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_**Urgh. They were slightly OOC. That annoys me, but I suppose it had to be done to help the story. Sorry for such the long update. Now that I'm back home I seem to find myself to be more easily distracted. Although! I have a lovely way to make up for it. In this chapter I talk about some certain things and give away certain clues as to where they are in Germany without actually giving a name. If anyone can correctly guess the city in which they are in, that person will have the privilege of suggesting a 'special' situation that Light and L might get into during the next chapter. SO GUESS AWAY MY LOVABLE READERS! And please Review…**_

_**Translations:**_

1 – By Patience and diligence one will reach the goal.

2- Beer Garden

3- What is wrong, Mello?

4- I would like strawberry marmalade bread with honey and an Apple Strudel.


	7. Russians, Liqour, and Naughty Things

**Warning: This chapter contains strong language, crazy Russians, more random German phrases, and very naughty things… X3**

"_English" is written in italics. _

Light wandered into the cramped room of the youth hostel later that evening. He dabbed away at his auburn hair with a towel. He had managed to take a shower without the presence of _certain other people_ and also managed not to become too annoyed at the fact that there was not a continuous stream of water. Bloody water conservation… Thoughts drifted to events that happened yesterday and Light shuddered at the remembrance of the shower incident.

Light tossed his towel on the single bed next to him. The room was quiet. His other 'roomies' were nowhere to be found. Light noticed that L's laptop was propped open and was currently sitting on the bottom bunk. L must have let Mello borrow his computer. Light walked over to the open computer. The moment Light's eyes focused on the screen a message popped up.

**Gm!n9M$+3r: **_MELS! I finished stalking Near for you…_

**Gm!n9M$+3r: **_Hello?_

Light eyed the screen and debated whether or not to do anything. Who was Near? Secondly, who was Gm!n9M$+3r? Light twisted his head back and forth to see if anyone had come back into the room. He would most likely have his percentage go up anyway for some other stupid reason; why not mess with Mello in the process? Light sat down on the bottom bunk and set his fingers up on the keys.

**ChocoLuva: **_Hello._

**Gm!n9M$+3r: …**

**Gm!n9M$+3r: **_Who the hell is this?_

**ChocoLuva: **_Mello?_

Light shifted his position on the bottom bunk. Well, that was interesting. How could he have been caught that quickly? He obviously slipped up somewhere. Although, he wasn't sure how he could have slipped with 'hello'. This was interesting.

**Gm!n9M$+3r: **_Fail. Epic. Seriously though, who is this?_

**ChocoLuva: **_How'd you know I wasn't Mello?_

**Gm!n9M$+3r: **_Mello would have fried my ass already for saying that I was stalking Near…Lol._

**ChocoLuva: **_Who's Near?_

"What the hell are you doing Abercrombie princess?" Mello yelled startling Light who swung his head back only to hit it on the top of the bunk bed. A slew of cuss words escaped his mouth as he rubbed his head. That's all he needed…more bruises.

"Has Light-kun been up to something mischievous? Up by three percent…" L said as he walked over to the bunk bed. Mello had wrenched the lap-top from Light's grasp and was cradling it to his chest with a scowl on his face. Light just sighed and stood up from the bed and walked off while still rubbing his head.

"Matt you dumbass…" Mello mumbled to himself as he took the chance to look at the screen for the very first time. The younger boy placed the lap-top on his bed and began to angrily type away on the key-board. L looked on this with slight amusement and then approached Light.

"I suggest you put on some more appropriate clothing for an outing unless you would prefer to wear your sleepwear," L said crinkling the candy wrapper he was opening. Light paused in the activity of rubbing his sore head to look at L as if he were completely insane. He walked over to the detective and leaned his head down to whisper.

"I don't know about you, but I think I've had enough outings for one day. Plus, I don't know how much more of your little friend I can stand. I know I'm supposed to be nice, but he's making it unreasonably hard," Light hissed into L's ear.

"There is no need to fret Light-kun. Mello will not be joining us on this outing, He is not old enough yet," L said smoothly while taking a bite of some Swiss chocolate that he had snagged from his heir when the blonde wasn't looking. Light stood there and stared at the insomniac detective as the other man licked the remnants of chocolate off his fingers.

"I'm somewhat afraid to ask, but what are we doing? I'm not sure I want to go to anything scandalous. I mean what kind of thing can we got to, but not Mello? I'm not going to see a stripper with you…" Light whispered slightly embarrassed as he voice cracked at the end. Light had already seen enough naked people…wait that came out wrong. Light rubbed his head, which was still sore from banging it. Why would L want to see naked women with him? At least he hoped to god it would be naked women…

"Light-kun has a very dirty mind…" L said nibbling his thumb, "I was simply talking about going to a bar to get a drink. If Light-kun is constantly thinking about strippers, he might be a bad example for Mello. Up by two percent…"

Light threw his arms up in protest. Then with a sigh he decided to give up and flopped his arms back by his side. He knew he was not going to win anything here. The want to leave Germany was growing stronger. He needed control of at least something. With a growl, Light turned to his suitcase and decided to find a decent outfit. With Light's head turned away from him, L let a Cheshire smile crawl to his face.

………………………………..

Light adjusted the cuff on his black dress shirt. Once he was satisfied with how it looked he stopped fiddling with it. He was currently outside the youth hostel under the glow of the lone street light that was turned on, because dusk was just setting in. Light heard the click of the front entrance and watched as L shuffled outside in his usual attire. The insomniac stepped down the few stairs to the street. Light watched as L dug around in his pocket for something. A moment later L slowly pulled the handcuffs from his pocket.

"What exactly do you plan to do with that?" Light asked.

"You didn't think I had forgotten did you Light-kun?" L said lifting Light's arm and snapping the handcuff on his wrist.

"There was the tiniest bit of hope…" Light mumbled under his breath as L began dragging him down the street. Light had almost forgotten the cool feel of handcuffs digging into his skin. It wasn't the most pleasant sensation he had experienced in his life.

Then another realization dawned on Light. They were actually going out in public with the handcuffs on. Light groaned. L heard the sound and turned his head back to look at the younger man. The clacking of L's untied sneakers stopped.

"Is something bothering you?" L asked. The hunch of L's back arced more as he turned his upper-torso towards Light. His thumb stayed propped at his mouth as he just stared at Light with his owl-like eyes. Light blinked. If the reason for his discomfort was not that obvious than L had truly been out of normal society for far too long.

"Would it really make any difference if I told you what was bothering me?" Light asked.

"Most likely not, but it felt like the thing to ask," L answered and with that they were off on their little outing once again. Two young men handcuffed together traveling down a street in the middle of Germany as the day sinks into the evening. One very finely dressed, while the other clad in jeans and a t-shirt. One is Japanese, and the other a mystery. Light couldn't think of a stranger situation.

They arrived outside the bar around the time most of the street lights were glaring down on the other creatures of the night. With the loud pumping of bass against the windows, Light could tell that this was more than a simple sit down and drink bar. This was a night club. L pulled Light forward and they went inside.

The moment they did step inside, however, Light immediately wanted to step back outside. A literal smog created from the smokers in the club assaulted Light's nose full force. Light couldn't breathe. L began to weave through the crowd hovering around the entrance. There seemed to be a lot of happy young faces in the room. Some of the zealous club-goers even looked younger than Light.

L seemed to find a spot in the club that satisfied him. A dark corner towards the back secluded from most of the other occupants of the building, but at a close enough distance to where he could still observe the activities around him. L slid into the booth with Light trailing behind him. A few minutes later a waitress approached them.

The waitress appeared to be young, or at least as 'hip' as the other guest here. Her lip-sticked lips curved into a smile as she placed a hand on her hip. Her heels clicked on the ground and the angle she leaned caused her skirt to raise a little to reveal well-toned legs. With her other hand she held up a tiny note-pad.

"Guten Abend. Was kann ich für sich heute Abend erhalten? (1)" the waitress asked sweetly eyeing Light. Said young man turned to L and looked at him expectantly. L cleared his throat, feet propped up on the table and toes wiggling. The waitress's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of L, but listened anyway as he began to talk.

"Ich möchte zwei Rauchbieren und zwei Brezeln, bitte (2)" L said seemingly as unimpressed of the waitress as she was of him. The waitress lifted the note pad and jotted the order down. She lifted her head back up after it was written and seemed to give L this look. It wasn't exactly an annoyed look or disgusted look. It was just this look.

"Ist eins dieser Getränke seins?(3)" the waitress asked in a bitter tone as she gestured at Light, but directed the question towards L. The detective lowered his feet and shifted into a regular sitting position. He let one of his creepy smiles float up to his face.

"Natürlich. Ich mag nicht bis später in den Abend getrunken werden und verwirrt werden(4)," L answered. The waitress let out a huff and stomped away. Light glanced over at L shortly after the incident transpired.

"Apparently you manage to piss off everyone no matter what country you're in," Light said with a smirk. L did not appear amused. The world's three best detectives shot back quickly after Light's comment. Thus a brief verbal battle ensued.

"Apparently the female species is ignorant no matter what country you're in,"

"I don't consider females as their own species,"

"I don't consider that to be relevant,"

"Well then…"

"Yes"

It grew quiet after that. Apparently the two hadn't bickered at each other in a while. Perhaps this pointless exchange of words was a way to make up for that fact. However, both realized that indeed the conversation was entirely pointless. The two sat there in silence until a very interesting character decided to shatter it.

A very small and compact figure staggered out of the other party-goers. A goofy smile was on her face as she wobbled slightly. Her wavy reddish-brown hair sparkled as the night club's lights shined on her. With quick, jerky, and uncoordinated steps she made her way towards Light and L's table. She almost seemed to fall in the seat across from them as she held her head while the world spun.

By this time the waitress carrying their order was heading toward the secluded spot in the club as the two geniuses stared at the random young woman that just stumbled into their lives. The waitress set the order down, gave the newest addition to the table a quick glance, and sauntered back off. The redhead from the dance floor seemed to have recovered by this point.

The girl released her head as her vision stopped spinning. Finally she took notice of the gentlemen sitting across from her. L was back to his normal sitting position staring at the ginger-haired girl as his nibbled on his thumb while Light shifted uncomfortably in his seat causing the handcuffs to clink as the chain moved along the seat.

The redhead rose a little in her chair and looked over the table to see the source of the noise. A smile cracked on her face and she flopped back down. That's when it started. A long jumble of words exploded out of the girl's mouth. For some reason the girl decided to have her spout of speech directed at Light who was caught off guard. As normal on this trip Light had no idea what the girl was saying, but the words just kept coming. It was like diarrhea of the mouth.

"Er kann nicht Deutsch sprechen(5)," L said. This statement seemed to save Light, but now left the detective open for this new form of verbal assault. The girl turned to L and smiled. A new conversation was started between the random ginger girl and L. Light sat back and watched.

The redhead didn't seem to slow down her rate of speech. The only time she paused during the entire conversation was when she took notice of the pretzels the waitress had left at the table. She picked one up off the plate and took a chunk out of it. This somewhat irked Light for two reasons. One was that once again he was left out of a conversation, because of his lack of understanding of the German language. The second reason was because this random most likely drunk girl had decided to show up out of nowhere and steal their food. Still gnawing on the stolen pretzel the girl turned back to Light.

"_You speak English?_" the redhead asked in a much accented voice. Light nodded his head very slowly. The girl smiled. "_Good, because I know nothing of that Chinese crap,"_

"_I'm Japanese," _Light corrected frowning slightly. L was quiet in his corner taking tiny sips of the beer he had gotten. The girl took another chunk out of the pretzel before placing it back on the plate half-eaten. She swallowed.

"_I am from Russia. My name is Vika. What is your name?"_ the now named random girl asked animatedly.

"_My name is Light and he's Ryuzaki…" _ Light answered her. Vika gave a toothy grin and leaned back in her seat. Her short stature allowed her swing her legs back and forth. She braced her hands on the table.

"_Your friend tells me this is your first time here in Deutschland. Are you enjoying yourself?" _Vika continued asking another question. Light glanced over at L who ignored him. Light let out an almost inaudible sigh.

"_Yes. After all the 'excitement' and 'joy' of today, my friend thought it would be good to try my first beer in Germany," _Light answered finally reaching for his own glass of beer. Vika's eyes widened and she seemed to smile with delight.

"_I request a moment!_" Vika said happily before jumping out of her seat and swerving back into the ever growing mosh pit in the center of the club. Light blinked and turned to look at L.

"How can you be so lax about this Ryuzaki?" Light grumbled narrowing his eyes at the placid detective. L took another slow sip of his drink and then with a clink he set his glass on the table.

"You might not realize this Yagami-kun, but I don't get to go out so often—"

"Oh trust me, I realize that!" a pointed look is sent in Light's direction before L continues what he was saying.

"Or have the chance to relax. Normally alcohol is not the first thing I attempt to engage in on the very rare occasions I take a break. That of course is for the obvious reasons, because as we know alcohol is not the best thing for one's body. However, I thought it might be a pleasant choice after a day like yours, Yagami-kun, to relax in this way. I fear I went on tangent. Anyway, the point of the matter is that I shall not let one random girl ruin my 'enjoyment' as you put it," L finished.

Light was speechless. L had put forth a reasonable argument. Light was still a bit bothered by the annoying random girl, but he supposed he could just ignore her. Come to think of it, isn't that what the detective had been doing earlier?

"_Vika has come to return!_" shouted the excitable petite Russian girl stumbling back over to the table. In one hand she held a tiny clear shot glass and in the other she held a long glossed bottle. She plopped back down in her seat and poured a clear liquid into her glass.

"Wilkommen Zurück…(6)" L said smirking. Light shrugged and decided to go along with it. The younger man reached for his beer glass and brought it over to himself. A yip was heard from the girl across from him as Vika lifted her glass high.

"Prost!(7)" the excitable Russian cheered. L lifted his own glass and repeated the action. Light just sat there and watched the gesture that was just exchanged with the faintest curiosity. Although apparently, Light had done something wrong, because L leaned over to whisper into his ear.

"It's sort of like saying _cheers_. I suggest you join in. Some actually believe it is bad luck when you do not participate," with that said L leaned back the other way with his glass still poised in the air beside Vika's. Light took hold of his own glass and raised it up.

"Prost?" left Light's mouth and the three glasses finally clanked together. L and Vika carried their drinks to their lips and took long sips. Light slowly grasped his glass tighter and took a drink. His face contorted into a strange expression and he lowered the glass in his hand. The exuberant girl across from him slammed her tiny shot glass down onto the table while her other hand sloshed the clear liquid in its long-necked bottle.

"_What are you drinking?" _Light asked curiously as he watched Vika begin to pour herself another shot of the clear liquid.

"_This?" _Vika sloshes the bottle again, "_This is the drink of my home country. It is Vodka. Would you like to try some?"_

_"I'd rather not…"_ Light replied already having disliked the taste of regular alcohol. The foreign girl shook her head side to side mouthing with her lips 'no, no, no….' She then leaned forward and shoved the bottle in front of Light's nose. A very strong stench of alcohol wafted from the rim of the bottle.

"_I insist!" _said Vika excitedly. As Light opened his mouth to protest the persistent Vika popped the Vodka bottle in his mouth and held the bottom high. A steady flow of the clear liquid shot down Light's throat leaving a slight burning sensation in its quake. The taste of the alcohol was even worse than the smell.

Vika pulled back the bottle and Light sputtered as he tried gasping for air. This little trip of relaxation was not as tranquil as L had tried to make it seem. Currently the said detective was glancing concernedly at the breathless teen. Light took a large gulp of air and composed himself.

"_Why did you do that?_" snapped Light irritably. His mind was slowly going into a haze. How strong was that stuff? When Light began to waver a bit he grabbed his head. Vika laughed heartily.

"_In Russia we have a saying; you do not drink Vodka, Vodka drinks you!_" Vika said in a much accented voice before taking another swig of her bottle.

Drunkenfundrunkenfundrunkenfundrunkenfundrunkenfun

Time passed in the dance club and it grew to be even later in the evening. People were still on the dance floor making somewhat drunken jerky moves. Vika was still having fun entertaining her new friends. After that shot of Vodka, Light was considerably _looser._

L watched as his two tablemates essentially made utter fools of themselves. The insomniac was thoroughly amused. He was still working on the first drink he had gotten, taking small sips here and there. L blinked as he realized Vika was talking to him. Her words were starting to become slurred and were mixing between German, English, and her native language.

"_What did you say?" _ L asked turning his attention to the girl as she slammed her now empty vodka bottle onto the table.

"Würdest du tanzen(8)?" Vika asked, opting for German this time around. A rather uncoordinated arm was flung out and she gestured toward the dance floor. L tilted his head to the side to look at the girl curiously.

"Du möchtest mit mir tanzen(9)?" L replied back. Light watched the conversation in his haze. He seemed to be even more confused than he already had been. Vika after hearing L's remark shook her head vigorously.

"Njett. _That is not what I meant to say…I… _Würdest du mit deinen Freund tanzen?(10)" Vika said in a wondrous intoxicated jumble of all three languages. A smile was plastered onto her face now.

"Meinst du mein Freund oder mein _Freund(11)?_" L asked quirking a brow. Light frowned before taking another gulp of his beer. Once again he had been left outside the conversation. Vika giggled happily standing up wobbly from her spot in her chair to point at the chain.

"Deinen Freund, Natürlich!(12)" Vika answered adding a wink for emphasis. She laughed again and then sat down. Light's frown deepened and he turned to L. The detective took in the younger man's look. Had he understood what the girl was implying?

"What are you two saying?"

Apparently Not. L smirked at Light and thought carefully on how he should reply. He needed something that would satisfy Light's curiosity, but also satisfy the lovely blunt Vika. He decided upon something.

"_She was wondering if we were going to dance together, Light-kun_" L answered the teen. Light seemed contemplative for a brief moment and then spoke up.

"Actually, I think I'd much rather use the restroom" Light said and slid out of his seat to stand rather shakily. His hands braced onto the table as he tried to gain balance. His face flushed to a light green for a second.

"I believe that my assistance may be required…" L said sighing as he started sliding out of the seat as well. Vika bobbed up and down happily as she watched the two begin to move.

"_You are going to_ tanz?" Vika yipped in a bubbly voice. A beaming smile had spread across her face. L was at this time trying to make Light steady by holding onto his shoulders. He shook his head, raggedy black hair bouncing her and there.

"_No, I am taking Light to the bathroom,_" L answered as Light leaned back into him. Vika did not lose her smile. In fact, it only grew double in size.

"_Ah. You are going to fuck in the toilet," _Vika said eyeing the pair. L's eyes widened and he almost lost his grip on Light's shoulder after the statement spouted out of the girl's mouth. The younger man, however, didn't seem effected in the least. Light blinked two bleary eyes and lifted a hand to point a knowing finger into the air.

"_I think you mean on the toilet. You can't fuck in a toilet, but you can fuck on a toilet,_" Light said matter-of-factly before lowering his hand. L snorted as he regained his grip on Light's shoulders. The teen would never give up any opportunity to prove someone wrong. Vika simply shrugged her shoulders.

"_Eh… Sex is Sex. Just do it!_" Vika cheered raising her hands into the air. L just shook his head and let out another sigh. Being with Vika was like being with a slightly more drunk and trilingual Misa. The insomniac pulled back on Light's shoulders and the teen was now propped up against him.

"_As…interesting as the suggestion is, I believe we'll just head to the restrooms now,_" L politely said as best he could. Then he started to carefully nudge Light along to the vicinity of the bathrooms. The young man's face was at this time changing from sickly green to a pale white.

"Ryuzaki…" Light said weakly.

"Please refrain from becoming sick on me. We are almost there," L said eyeing the Kira suspect's face. Soon enough they reached the entrance to the men's restroom. L shoved Light quickly through the door as the young man began to make gagging noises.

"I gotta go…" Light said in a slurred voice as he ran to one of the stalls dragging the insomniac along. L's eye widened a fraction as Light slammed the stall door shut and leaving him trapped on the other side. The chain pulled taut and L was pressed up against the stall door.

"Light-kun must open the stall door at once!" L yelled uncharacteristically as he hung there awkwardly due to the pull on the chain. L was most uncomfortable in this position. He then tried moving the chain only to get it stuck in the crack of the door.

"I'm not opening the door! Are you stupid…" after Light said this, his voice trailed off; and L was faced with nothing but the green plastic of the stall door and silence. The detective frowned, adjusting his head to look elsewhere, Elsewhere being the entrance to the restroom. At this exact moment another young man came in to use the facilities.

The other man immediately caught sight of L. The man's face contorted into one of disgust and confusion as he eyed L's arm hanging high above his head from the chain; the detective's jean and T-shirt clad body still pressed up against the stall.

"I assure this is as awkward as it looks…" L said to the random man using English as it is the most commonly spoken language around the world. The other man merely blinked and then slid out of the entryway and back into the shadows of the dance club.

A few minutes later, Light finally emerged from the green plastic stall. Color had returned to the young man's face. L scowled at Light as he rubbed his wrist to get the blood to flow through to it again. Light seemed to ignore him as he went to go wash his hands at the sink.

L stopped rubbing his wrist and turned to glare hard at Light. The younger man continued to be oblivious to the detective as he dried his hands with the air-blower. When Light was done he turned to face L. The slightly irate older man prepared to berate the teen.

"I think we should take up Vika's suggestion," Light said out of the blue before L could even speak. L simply blinked. Then he registered what Light had actually said. His mouth dropped open like a fish. He could barely breathe.

He couldn't breathe.

L struggled to breathe…

Finally, it seemed to register to his body that he needed air. L gasped as oxygen finally made its decent back to his needy lungs. Light looked confused and frowned. L put a hand to his chest before he summed up enough gal to speak again. He looked up and stared pointedly in Light's eyes.

"I think that a horrendous idea! Not only is it highly inappropriate, but it is likely to jeopardize all the work I have done so far! What you're asking for is simply inconceivable. More importantly, I am most presently surprised you would even suggest such a thing…" L said as calmly as he could. Light's frown deepened even more.

"Well gees… if you didn't want to dance with me that badly, you could have been a bit more polite about it," Light sighed as he leaned against the tiles of the bathroom wall to balance himself. L's lips shut tight for a moment. His eyes shifted left to right, and then back to the younger man.

"Dancing?"

"Dancing…"

"Oh well, dancing is perfectly fine,"

"Then why'd you seem so against it…"

"I…well as it was… I entirely thought you were suggesting… I believe it is time for us to leave the vicinity of the lavatories. Yes," L said, and began to drag the chain as he proceeded out the door. Light groaned and let L drag him along. The teen was still slightly woozy. The flickering lights of the dance floor were not helping the least to his cause to find his sense of focus.

L led them to a place slightly outside the mass of people dancing. The two there awkwardly now moving for a moment. Light shifted his feet back and forth, still not entirely balanced. L stuck his hands in his pocket and went into his normal crouch. Silence…

"Well, are you going to dance with me?" Light asked eyeing L on the dimly lit dance floor. L craned his neck up to gaze at Light. His eyes shifted to the side to look at the other pivoting dance floor attendees.

"I believe Light-kun is capable of dancing by himself…" L replied a bit loudly so he would be able to be heard over the current song now bursting out of the speakers. Light sighed and crossed his arms.

"What can you not dance or something?" Light said smirking. L's eyes turned back to Light and his mouth formed into a frown. His dark eyes narrowed. He leaned forward slightly in his crouch.

"You assume I can't?"

"I'm not calling the kettle hot!"

"I believe Light-kun has used that expression entirely wrong,"

"Why don't you just dance then!?!"

"Perhaps I shall…"

With that said, L began to move his hips from side to side. Light bit his lip. The shaggy-haired detective looked ridiculous, but he was _dancing_ now. L's head began to bob up and down, hands still snug in his jeans pocket. Light satisfied with L's effort begins to join into the dance. Light lifts his arms slightly and sort of bounces up and down on his heels.

The two continued to dance in their own special ways as the sparkling lights of the club flashed around them. Although they started at the very edge of the dance floor, somehow, they began to travel more into the mob of dancers. It was almost like a current of people slowly dragging them in. The two hadn't even noticed this occurrence till Light was roughly elbowed in the side.

Light turned to sneer at whoever had down it, but was faced with nothing but the backs of a sea of people. L gazed around them. They were surrounded on all sides. This could be slightly problematic. L inched closer and took Light's hand in his own. The teen turned his head to look at him, but the insomniac said nothing as he slowly began to push their way through the mass to get out.

Once they emerged from the crowd a familiar face greeted them. Vika sprung up with joy from her seat at the bar and rushed towards them. Both men prepared themselves. Vika approached L first and grabbed his shoulders. She leaned forward and gave L a kiss on each cheek. She pulled back and smiled.

_"I am leaving now! I wanted to say good-bye…" _ Vika smiled as she let go of L's shoulders. Light blanched. He was astonished. How could this girl just go happily up and kiss L? That was simply preposterous. And for some reason he also felt he didn't like it…

_"Why did you just kiss him?" _ Light let out before he could stop himself. L and Vika turned to look at him. Vika's smile broadened as she leant towards Light. She put her head back a second to wink at L, but then focused on Light again.

"_In Europe, we say our goodbyes and hellos to friends with a kiss on the cheek,_" Vika said enthusiastically. She then proceeded to kiss Light on each cheek. When she was done, she gave one last wave and disappeared out the door of the club.

Light watched Vika and was glad when she was finally gone from their presence. He glanced over at L. The detective turned to look at him. Light smirked. He inched closer to L and placed a hand on each shoulder. Maybe it was alcohol, but he was undeniably curious…

"What is Light-kun doing?" L stuttered slightly. He did not like the look in the teen's eyes. It was off somehow. Light wobbled a little. The effects of the alcohol had not entirely worn off. He wanted to do this though.

"I just want to try something…" Light lifted one hand to turn L's head to the side. He leaned his head close as he puckered his lips slightly. L knew what was happening and swung his head to protest. Their lips both met. For a moment there was no movement. Light broke the accidental kiss. He hurriedly stepped back from L and released his shoulders. This caused him to become severely unbalanced.

Light was already woozy. The combination of shock, bleary eyes, and the room spinning because of the offset of his equilibrium brought him off his feet. Light felt himself fall backward. Light was down for the count. The room went dark.

"Light-kun!"

**Drunkdrunkdrunkdrunkitydrunkdrunkdrankgonnabuyyouadrankdrunkitydrunk**

_**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for the ungodly long update. Life has been completely hectic. It's my last year of high school, so it's been wild looking for a college and such. I'm happy to say I am now in the top 10% of German students in the state. And earlier this week I went to a German Honor Luncheon thingy. Yes… Lol. Please Review! The next chapter will definitely be coming sooner.**_

_**Side Story: A lot of the things in this chapter are actually based on things that happened to me in Germany. Vika is a real person. And she's pretty much one of the craziest, excitable, and awesome people I've ever met. So wherever you are Vika, stay cool!**_

**Translations:**

Guten Abend. Was kann ich für sich heute Abend erhalten? - _Good evening. How may I serve you today? (More or less…XD)_

Ich möchte zwei Rauchbieren und zwei Brezeln, bitte – _I would like two smoked beers, and two pretzels, please._

Ist eins dieser Getränke seins? – _Is one of the drinks his?_

Natürlich. Ich mag nicht bis später in den Abend getrunken werden und verwirrt werden- _Naturally. I don't like to get drunk or disoriented till later on in the evening._

Er kann nicht Deutsch sprechen-_ He can't speak German._

Wilkommen Zurück…- _Welcome back…_

_Prost- Cheers_

Würdest du tanzen?-_Would you like to dance?_

Du möchtest mit mir tanzen?-_You want to dance with me?_

Njett. _That is not what I meant to say…I… _Würdest du mit deinen Freund tanzen?-_No. That is not what I meant to say…I…do you want to dance with your boyfriend?_

Meinst du mein Freund oder mein _Freund?- Do you mean my guy friend or my boyfriend?_

Deinen Freund, Natürlich!-_You're boyfriend naturally!_

(I know my German isn't 100% perfect, so if anyone is a native speaker or the like, please feel free to comment with corrections! X3)


	8. Neanderthal

The moment he came back to the world of the living was a rather unpleasant one. His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton; and the taste of his mouth was almost unbearable. Light slowly blinked his eyes open. He immediately decided that it had been a terrible move considering the sunlight creeping from the window had almost burned his retinas.

"Oh my head…" Light groaned in mild agony. It was like a brick of gold wrapped with a lemon had been smashed into his frontal lobe. His eyes were squeezed shut as he moved his hands to grab a hold of his head. The world sucked. The world really really was sucking today.

"I have some medication for Light-kun, if he so wishes to take it…" a soft voice spoke beside the brunette. Light waited a moment more before even attempting to open his eyes again. The process was a bit slow, but once the blur was gone he could see clearly.

"Ryuzaki?" Light questioned as he eyed the other man hovering above him.

It was obvious that the detective had just finished taking a shower. Black wet slicked hair stuck to the sides of L's head as he focused his undivided attention on Light. A bottle of aspirin was held firmly in his hand.

"What?" Light _intelligently _sputtered out. The younger man was completely and utterly confused. Certain facts were starting to solidify in his head; and for the most part it wasn't making any sense at all, so far…

What time was it? Where were they? What happened to that annoying foreigner…Vika? Why the hell did his mouth currently taste like something had crawled in and died? All these questions and more were swirling around in Light's head.

"Light-kun…passed out in the club yesterday. I coaxed him into a semi-conscious state in order to drag him back to the hostel," L explained, seemingly guessing everything that Light was asking in his head own head. There was a brief moment of silence.

"Oh…um. What time is it?" Light asked as he began to register more where he was exactly.

"It is about nine in the morning. I thought it best that everyone be allowed to sleep in today," L replied, scratching his ankle leisurely with his other foot. Light blinked. What did L mean by _everyone_? Wasn't it just them in the… Oh wait. Light turned his head to eye the fiery blonde still sound asleep in the bottom bunk.

"He doesn't seem that much of a demon spawn when he's asleep…" Light commented aloud.

"I would prefer it if Light-kun did not refer to Mello as demon spawn," L said with a blank look. Light sat up in the bed and grabbed the medicine from L's hand. He took a pill from the bottle and popped it into his mouth. He swallowed it dry.

"Maybe I wouldn't refer to the brat as demon spawn, if he wasn't spilled from the seed of Satan himself," Light bit out with a huff. A few moments after these words were spoken; Light received a whack to the back of his head.

…………………………………………..

It was near mid-day now. The three young men of varying ages stood in the middle of the shopping central. Shops aligned the center from all angles. Mello, who was now wide awake, bounced excitedly in place.

"Könnte ich gehen? Bitte?(1)" Mello asked L pleading, purposefully choosing to use German as a way to cheese off Light. The subtle taunt proved effective. Light directed a glare toward the blonde.

"Mello knows all the precautions I have set for him on this journey alone, yes?" L asked. Mello nodded his head happily, a grin spreading on his face. Light blanched.

"Wait… wait… wait! You're going to let Blondie here wander off without supervision? If I'm gone for five minutes, you'd call the National Guard!" Light growled.

"FUCK you! Abercrombie Prin— ow!" Mello held his head where L had hit him. He looked up at his idol with a small pout. L did not seem amused in the least.

"Language Mello…," L scolded before turning to Light "Do you find my methods unfair, Light-kun?"

"Yes I do! I don't think it's quite fair that you're letting a little kid run wild in the streets of German, while I'm here stuck with you!" Light howled in protest. Both Mello and L looked offended by Light's statement. Mello didn't appreciate being referred to as a little kid. L was displeased by the fact Light pretty much just dissed his existence.

"I'm sorry if my presence doesn't please you Yagami-kun, _but_ his and Mello's situation are on a different level entirely," L said with eyes narrowed.

"Oh really!?!?" Light bellowed back, catching a few stares from some random passerbyers. Most thoughts pointed to "Crazy Asian screaming in the square". L inwardly seethed as he eyed Light down. Mello glowered alongside his idol.

"Yagami-kun is trying my patience… There are two definite reasons why Mello should be allowed to be on his own and you can't" L's voice dropped several octaves lower as he pointed to the blonde boy, "He is not currently under suspicion of being a mass murderer on a global scale. Secondly, he is able to speak the native language,"

With reasons laid on the table, it seemed Light was at a loss of words. L gave an eerie smirk as he gauged Light's reaction. The auburn-haired teen twitched. He hated when L pulled the "Kira" card on him. That card always put him in a foul mood. Mello watched the scene, becoming slightly antsy.

"Now that the loser knows his place, can I go?" Mello whined slightly. L turned his attention to the younger boy. The blonde grinned up at his idol and held out his hands, palm open. L dug into his pocket and pulled out a few Euros. He gently placed them into Mello's hand. The blonde took the money greedily and stuffed it into his black jean pockets.

"Mello is aware of what time I expect him back?" L said blandly.

"I come back to the square at three, so we can grab some grub. I know the plan. Can I go? Please…." Mello said. His eyes growing wider with each passing second in anticipation. L reached out his arms nudging Mello along, signaling that he was allowed to go. Mello shot off like a rocket down the main street, but not without ramming his shoulder into Light's side first.

"Hey!" Light cried. He watched the blonde run off into the distance. Mello turned his head and stuck his tongue out at Light. The older teen glowered. Mello grinned evilly before disappearing into the crowd. L pretended not to notice the interaction. He didn't feel like dealing with it…

"Come Light-kun, I believe that Haribo store over there is calling my name," L said as he took a hold of Light's wrist and dragged him along. Light grumbled, and thought about the many ways he could kill Mello. Light also secretly hoped that L couldn't read his mind. That would cause more than one problem.

"If you don't mind me asking, but what is Haribo?" Light asked. L turned to look at the other young man as if he had grown a third head. Light blinked, "What?"

"Is that Light-kun's attempt of a joke?" L asked seriously.

"Um…no," Light replied.

"I see…" L said before continuing on with their journey. Light was little bit irritated that L didn't actually answer his question. The two made their way through the crowds until they reached a small shop in a corner of the marketplace.

"I should have figured it'd be a candy shop," Light said with a scoff. Instead of acknowledging what Light had said, L made his way into the shop while simultaneously dragging the other young man behind him. Light sighed as he was carried off.

The shop appeared very colorful and bright. Little bins of candy lined the walls, and the various colors and shapes of the candy helped add to the effect. The atmosphere was pleasant. The store even smelled sweet. L licked his lips as he approached the display case. The quirky detective ripped off a plastic bag from a stand and opened it up. Light watched as L reached forward to grab a few gummy candies. A store clerk appeared out of nowhere with an angry look on her face.

"Nicht mit dem Hande! _No hands!(2)"_ The woman shouted at the unsuspecting L. The poor man was a bit startled and retracted his hand away from the precious candies.

"Entschuldigung…" L said dejectedly. Light held back a grin. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but as long as L was getting yelled at for something it was 'A' okay. The shop clerk gave one last pointed glare toward L before walking off.

L pouted. He waited a moment before grabbing the shovel used to pick up the candy the 'proper way'. L narrowed his eyes a bit, but slowly began to fill his bags with various gummies. The candy gladly made up for the abrupt interruption. Light watched on with mild interest.

"What's so great about this Haribo candy that's different from any other candy?" Light asked curiously as he watched L shovel more of a particular gummy into his bag. L paused in his shoveling to glance over at Light. L said nothing, but dropped the shovel down and walked over to Light.

The insomniac reached into his bag and pulled out a gummy in the shape of a frog. He held it up to Light's face. Light blinked at it. What was L trying to do? The other man continued to hold up the gummy to Light's face.

"Eat it," L said sternly.

"I don't want to!" Light shot back. L pushed the gummy even more into Light's face. The younger man tried desperately to swipe it away, but appeared to be failing. Light made another move to protest and that's when L struck. The gummy frog was shoved forcefully into Light's mouth. Light tried not to choke.

"Delicious, no?" L said with a mischievous smile. Light coughed and attempted to breathe normally again. L stepped back slightly when a menacing look came to Light's face. The younger man went to hit L.

"Ryuzaki! I'm going to kill you!" Light shouted angrily.

"15 percent!" L cried as Light whacked him in the head. Light continued to poke and prod L playfully. He wasn't really going to hurt the detective as much as he wanted to. Plus, there were far too many witnesses. The faux fight ended abruptly when L kicked Light in the shin.

"Ow!" Light hissed as he grabbed his shin. L just looked at Light for a moment before going back over to the candy bin and started to shovel again. After a minute or two, Light let go of his bruising shin. He glared over at L, whom ignored him.

"Has Light-kun ever had a German gummy bear?"

* * *

Mello happily skipped towards his idol in the middle of the shopping center. In the blondes hands were several plastic shopping bags. Once Light and Mello made eye contact, they glared hard at each other. Although, Mello brightened again when L waved at him.

"Did Mello enjoy himself?" L asked pulling out another gummy from his bag and stuffing it into his mouth. Mello nodded excitedly and seemingly danced around the two with his shopping bag. Light laughed loudly. Mello stopped and gave him a mean look.

"What's so funny bit—witch face?" Mello chose his words wisely as to not get whacked in the head again by L for his language. L seemed to approve of the action, but was also curious as to why his suspect had been laughing. Light grinned evilly.

"I just think it's funny that you look even more like a little girl. The way you dance with those shopping bags…" Light started to laugh again. Mello looked murderous. L held Mello back with the scruff of his shirt when the blonde attempted to throttle the teen. The detective let out a sigh.

"You two may abuse each other later, but I believe it is time for our late lunch," L commented as he let go of Mello's shirt. The blonde huffed with a snarl and picked up some of the bags that had dropped when he went in for the kill. Light hid a smirk behind his hand.

L led the way. He eyed the many shops and restaurants; and tried to determine which would be the best final destination. Light walked beside the detective, also taking the time to observe things. Mello extracted a chocolate bar from one of his bags, and began to unwrap it.

"You both have an unhealthy obsession with sweets," Light said as he eyed the younger boy. Mello's eyes narrowed and he snapped off a piece of chocolate. He slowly chewed on it and swallowed. Mello picked up his pace and stood on the side of L.

"Er ist mehr dumm als böse(3)," Mello said bitterly to L as he glanced at Light. L bit his lip and also looked over at Light. The brunette huffed and turned his head away from them. L clicked his tongue and turned his attention to Mello.

"_You know Light-kun dislikes it when you use a language he doesn't know…_" L replied in English. Light swung his head around to look at them again. His face was slightly hardened and he seemed severely pissed.

"I do know how to speak English, you asshole!" Light shouted back in his native tongue. People walking by were considerably confused, especially when the three continued to hold conversation in three different languages. A little later, the three finally made it to a restaurant.

The three were seated in a small booth. Mello set his bags on the table. Light opened his menu to look at it. Luckily this time the menu was in English. He still had to translate things, but it was much easier.

"What did Mello purchase with the money I gave him?" L said curiously as he peeked at Mello from his menu. The blonde smiled and slammed his menu down on the table. He cleared his throat to tell L as if the information he was about to give was the most important in the world.

"Well, I purchased a lot of great chocolate. It wasn't that fake and cheap chocolate crap, but the good stuff! I got some German video games too! I thought _someone_ would appreciate it…" Mello continued, holding up the bags that went with each object he described.

Mello finished talking when the waitress arrived. Each of the three placed his order and settled down for the meal. Light continued to look over at Mello. The blonde glanced back at him with a 'What the hell?' face. Light grabbed his water and took a small sip before setting it back down on the table.

"What's in that bag?" Light asked pointing to a tiny lone light blue bag that had been stuck in the farthest corner of the table. Mello followed Light's finger. The younger boy seemed to freeze and a bit of color rushed to his face. The blonde tried to push down the heat rising to his cheeks.

"It's none of your dam…damn business…," Mello stuttered before looking down at the table. L didn't bother to berate Mello for language. The younger boy seemed embarrassed anyway. That was punishment enough for him. Light was not satisfied with that answer.

Warm steamy food arrived soon after the exchange. L poked at his food, not particularly hungry. He had eaten a lot of gummies earlier, perhaps too many gummies. Light ate at leisurely pace. He took his time tasting the foreign food. Mello ate with much vigor. He stuffed his face to the fullest extent before swallowing. Must have been hungry…

The food was gone. The meal had ended. L paid for the food and the three were on their way once more. The sun was just beginning to go down when they exited the restaurant. Since it was December, the weather was just a bit nippy. Light rubbed his arms to keep warm.

As they walked along the sidewalk, street lamps began to flicker on even though the sun was still peeking over the horizon. The three were quiet as they made their way onward. They had to go back to the hostel and pack. They would be getting on a train tonight, and be heading to another town.

It was taunting him. Light couldn't take it anymore. The tiny blue bag in Mello's arms was begging to be opened. He had to know what was inside. It had to be embarrassing. It couldn't be too bad though. He was only a kid. Hmmm…

Light ran forward and snatched the bag from Mello's grasp. The blonde was startled and it took it a moment to realize what was happening. L stared at Light as if he were mad. The brunette grinned evilly as he dug his hand into the bag. Light blinked. It was soft, very soft. Light slowly pulled his hand out to reveal a fluffy white stuffed sheep. It even had a little blue bow wrapped around its neck. Light cackled.

"Look L! Apparently your little friend here is a secret doll lover," Light continued to laugh as he shook the doll here and there. Mello snarled and lunged forward at Light. L did nothing to stop the blonde fireball this time. Mello desperately tried to jump higher to grab the doll from Light's hand. The older teen had raised the doll high above his head. He was having far too much fun.

"Give me back Nea—" Mello stopped himself. The blondes face started to turn a beet red. Mello tried desperately to cover his face with his hands. He could have just died right then and there. Light lowered his arm and eyed the blonde.

"Nia?" Light teased. Mello opened his fingers and glared at Light through them. With a quick motion, Mello snatched the white fluffy doll back. L watched from the sidelines thoroughly amused.

"His name is Nea-nderthal! Because he's just a stupid white sheep!" Mello roared as he stuffed the doll back into its rightful bag. Light continued to laugh as Mello shot forward and sprinted the rest of the way back to the hostel.

"Up by 20 percent!" L said out of nowhere. Light stopped laughing.

"What? Why?" Light said with a growl.

"For deriving amusement from a child's shame. Now come, we must pack…" L explained. The detective then continued on his way. Light's eyes narrowed and he stifled a curse under his breath. After a moment he began to drag behind L.

* * *

NaNoWriMo! Sorry for the horrendously long delay. First year of college…trying to get the ropes. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It makes me happy. =D Please review if you can. Alright! Time for the important stuff.

Translations:

Könnte ich gehen? Bitte? – Can I go? Please?

Nicht mit dem Hande – Not with the hands!

Er ist mehr dumm als böse – He is more stupid than Evil.


	9. Train Ride

"How was I supposed to know _umsteigen_ meant to change trains?" Light said grouchily, having almost missed the second train.

"I think it was obvious…" L said. Light just glared at the other man and slid down more into his seat. Mello snickered to himself as he happily snuggled more into his idol's side. Light sent an irritated look the blonde's way.

The three had been traveling for quite a while now. Right after lunch they had packed up their things at the hostel and headed out to the main train station. L had given a brief explanation of how the railway systems worked before they boarded. Apparently his explanation hadn't been good enough for Light, whom had fallen asleep on the train thus almost missing the next train switch.

A nice woman had the courtesy to wake up Light by tapping him on the shoulder. The moment Light realized he was left behind; he stampeded off the train to get to the other. He had managed to catch up just in time, which leads us to our current situation.

"Let it go princess…" Mello said sticking his tongue out at Light. The older boy tried to move across L, whom was in-between the bickering two, and grab the irritating blonde. Mello was thoroughly amused as Light got smacked in the face. The younger boy's amusement was short-lived, however, as he too got a whack to the head.

"Both of you shall remain as silent as possible on this trip and try your best not to…anger me," L said sternly.

"The little demon started it…" Light whined as he rubbed his nose that was now turning a slight shade of red after getting smacked.

"Fu—"Mello stopped himself before he got hit again. The look L was giving him was a bit unnerving the blonde had to admit. The younger boy turned to his backpack and started digging around to avoid L's gaze. L's attention then went back to Light, who sat on the other side of him.

"I don't care…" L said simply.

A lot of time passed by as the three sat there in silence. Darkness was starting to hit the countryside as they passed it along. Light admired the scenery as much as he could while the little sunlight left still hit it. He was rather annoyed that the particular train they were on now had to stop at every single little shack in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Light remembered L trying to explain to him what these certain stops were called, but the young man hadn't held enough interest at the time to care about the matter.

Boredom set in around the second hour on the train. Light decided he needed something to entertain himself with or he'd go crazy. The Kira suspect reached for the overhang luggage and dug out his Japanese-to-German dictionary. He decided he might as well learn something why he sat here in misery.

Light cracked open the book. The binding bent back and added creases to the fold. It still had that new book smell, which for some reason Light found he always rather liked. He began to study simple phrases, little tidbits that might help him in the near future. He hadn't really looked at the book since the time he had gotten completely lost in the town square. Light glowered at the embarrassing memory form behind his book. Suddenly Light felt a push from his side. L had moved considerably more into him. Light made a move to protest, but the detective caught his gaze and gestured to his other side.

"I apologize Yagami-kun; however, some things are out of my control…" L said softly in almost a whisper. Light's gaze fell to where L gestured. Mello had apparently fallen asleep somewhere along the trip. The young blond had his head cuddled tightly into L's side. He had moved his legs up onto the seat and was curled into a tight little ball. The item he had retrieved from his bag earlier was now visible. The tiny sheep doll popped slightly out of Mello's arms as he shifted in his sleep. Light turned his attention back to L.

"It's fine," Light said softly before turning his attention back to his book. He made a mental note to torture Mello later on about his little dolly. A dark cackle resonated in Light's inner-thoughts. Revenge would be sweet. Light was knocked out of his inner-plotting by L peering over his shoulder. The insomniac was really starting to invade his personal space.

It was starting to kind of creep the young man out, even if he couldn't see L. He could just feel the other man hovering over him. Light turned to tell L to ease up a bit and was taken aback. His eyes widened to their full extent as the reality of how close to two really were. L's nose brushed against his as their eyes met. His hot breath whispered on his cheek. A whiff of it caught Light's nose. It smelt like peppermints.

For a moment Light couldn't even move. L didn't seem the least bit bothered by the situation. He continued to stare right back into Light's eyes. Finally the younger man whipped his head in the other direction. He could feel heat rise to his face. He was unsure what to say. What could he say at this point after an awkward moment like that?

"When Light-kun blushes his ears turn a lovely shade of pink as well," L teased in a low voice so as to not wake-up Mello, whom was still awake. Light sputtered and scooted farther down away from L on the seat. He would've shouted in outrage if it wasn't for the fact it would awake the beast.

"Shut up, Ryuzaki…" Light muttered under his breath just loud enough for the other man to here. The young man thought he heard a light laugh from beside him, but did not intend on looking over there anytime soon. The laughter soon subsided and Light went back to his book in an attempt to forget what just took place. He could still feel his ears burning. God damn it.

"What are you reading?" L asked. Light frowned and buried his face more into the tiny book.

"What does it look like I'm reading?" Light growled back.

"No need to be rude…" L said.

"I said to be quiet you insufferable—" Light began to complain when Mello shifted beside L. Both older men turned to watch the young blonde. However, Mello merely flipped his body in the other direction. His face cuddled more into his little sheep doll. A happy sigh left the chocoholics lips, but he did not awaken.

"Thank-god," both L and Light muttered under their breaths at the same time. Light now turned his attention to the spidery detective beside him. He was confused for a second, but then a smirk slowly came to his face. L eyed him.

"Light-kun?" L questioned.

'You don't like the little brat very much either, do you?" Light replied without losing his smile.

"It is not that I dislike Mello. That isn't the case at all—"

"Then what is it?"

"If Light-kun would kindly let me finish, I shall tell him. The reason I showed relief in that fact that Mello had not awoken is because he has tendency to be a bit _too_ affectionate towards I. Also, I enjoy my time with you when it is uninterrupted," L finished explaining.

Light grew quiet. The young man coughed into his hand and then pretended to go back to his book. He was at a loss of words. Was there some underlying meaning as to why L answered that way? Was the detective trying to throw him off? Light thought long about it; so long in fact that it took about fifteen minutes to realize that he'd grown rather hungry.

"Ryuzaki…"

"Yes?"

"Do you have any food I can have? " Light asked. There was a pause and then Light heard the sound of crinkling. He turned his head to find L digging around his pocket. The insomniac then pulled out a rather sad looking lollipop. The wrapper was half dangling off and there was a variety of different colored pocket lent stuck to it. Light almost threw up in his mouth as he eyed a rather long black hair hanging off it, "Do you have…anything…else?"

"If Light-kun is so picky about his food, there is a food coach towards the end of the train," L said.

"That sounds more promising. Thank-you," Light said as he made a move to stand up. Light was prepared to walk away when a hand gripped his arm. L stared up at him. His owl-like eyes boring into his skull. Light cocked his head to the side. What did the detective want now?

"Light-kun doesn't honestly believe that I'll just let him go off on his own, does he?" L said.

"What? You going to follow and leave Mello alone while he's asleep? " Light shot back.

"Not in the least. That would be entirely irresponsible…" L said with a smirk.

////////\\\\\\\\\

"Hurry your ass up Abercrombie Princess. I don't have all freaking day," Mello grumbled as they made their way down the train.

"Did Ryuzaki know you'd be this grouchy after you woke up?" Light said irritably.

"Do you want to eat or not asshole?" Mello said as he glared hard up at Light. The young man brushed the comment from the blonde off. He still had something he could hold over the young boy's head. A dark chuckle left his throat.

"I'd be a little nicer to me Blondie…" Light snarled.

"Or really? Why's that princess?" Mello shot back.

"I tell everyone about your little sheep!" Light said with a mischievous grin. Mello looked as if he had just choked on his own spit. His face tinged all pink and he appeared completely flustered. Then after a moment the blonde seemed to calm down. He laughed.

"Ha! You can tell anyone your little heart desires. Most of the people hear can't understand you. Plus, you don't really know anyone that I'd care about if they did found out that little piece of information. So there! HA!" Mello said triumphantly. Light didn't lose his smile.

"What about that Matt person? Or that Near dude he talked about in the chat?" Light said darkly as he referred back to the time he had messed around with the lap top. Mello's face went blank. His mouth formed into a very thin line.

"You wouldn't dare…"

"Wouldn't I?"

The rest of the trip up the train proceeded in complete silence. Light was very pleased. Mello was… plotting his revenge. L was fairly curious why Light seemed so cheerful upon his return. The rest of the train ride went by rather smoothly. The three collected their things and got off the train.

They walked out of the train station and went towards a bus stop. L studied the bus schedule and determined when their next bus would arrive. The three stood tiredly at the bus stop, their luggage making a ring around them. The sun had already gone down at this point. It was inching closer and closer to the time to sleep. The bus finally arrived and they got on.

They watched as the night lights passed them by. As the bus continued on, the amount of lights began to dwindle. All that could be seen now was the shadows of trees in the moonlight. The bus slowly pulled to a stop in front of a shady hotel. Three tiny lights lit up its wooden sign. Light eyed it questionably. This was the last stop. The three were asked to get off the bus.

"Ryuzaki are you sure this is the right place?" Light asked as he continued to eye the sign for the rather disturbing motel. The sign was mostly white except for giant pink gaudy letters that read in English "The Love Motel". The actual establishment didn't look that exquisite either.

"This is not where we are staying for the night," L assured the young man.

"Thank-god" Light said "because this looks like one of those kinds of places where they _charge by the hour_,"

"Why would they make people pay by the hour to stay in a shit hole like that?" Mello asked.

"I'll tell you when you're older Mello…" L said as he looked at the surrounding area ignoring the fact that Mello had cursed. Mello huffed and crossed his arms. So far on this trip everyone was treating him like a complete child. At least he would finally be turning thirteen tomorrow. Then he'd get the respect he deserved.

"Ryuzaki. Where are we staying then?" Light asked.

'There is a small pension somewhere around here. I just need to locate it," L replied.

"So what you really saying is that we're lost," Light glowered.

"I said no such thing," L said back with a rather irritable tone.

"How are we going to find this place in the dark?" Mello questioned aloud. He trusted L to the fullest extent to get them to their destination. Yet at the same time, he was aware that the task would be rather difficult with such little lighting. All the young blonde could see at this point was the crappy motel and trees. Lots and lots of trees….

"Follow me," L said as he walked forward, his luggage gripped tightly in his hand. Light and Mello somewhat reluctantly shuffled behind him. Light was almost certain that he'd rather stay at the Love Motel than chance whatever the held waited for them among the trees. A montage of horror film scenes filtered through his mind.

A single street light revealed a path up the hill. L determined that this would be the way to go. The three trudged on into the dark. The hill was starting to get really steep as they continued onwards. The luggage seemed to get heavier in their arms. Suddenly, like a beacon of hope, a rather large house could be seen in the distance.

Each traveler picked up their pace. They reached the front door. L knocked slowly. They waited with anticipation. The door slowly creaked open. An elderly woman greeted them warmly in German. L confirmed to Light that this was indeed where they would stay for the night.

The old woman led them in. She happily chatted to L as she explained things to him. The three were led to a tiny office where they received their keys. L got the key for his and Light's room; and Mello got the room for his. Before they went to their rooms, the old woman gave Mello a tiny chocolate toffee and patted his head sweetly. Mello smiled up at her, but once the three were out of her sight a deep frown set in on his face.

"I'm tired of people treating me like a kid," Mello complained.

"Well I'm tired of you," Light commented. L smacked his shoulder. Light hissed and grabbed his abused shoulder. He sent a look L's way, but the detective didn't seem to care in the least. Soon enough they parted ways. Mello went off to his own separate room and the two went to theirs.

"Good-night Mello," L said.

"Good-night L—Ryuzaki," Mello said before disappearing around the corner.

Light and L made their way to the room at a slow pace. Their ascent up the stairs of the tiny pension was relatively calm. L pulled out the key and opened the door. The luggage was dragged into the room and throw onto the ground. Light groaned.

"There's only one bed?" he whined.

"It's big enough for two," L pointed out.

"You know what…at this point I guess I don't care anymore," Light said as he kicked off his shoes. The teen then went towards the bed and flopped onto it unceremoniously. Light's face was buried into the pillow, his arms were sprawled out, and for a moment he didn't move at all. He just let exhaustion set in.

L slipped off his own shoes and placed them by the door. He slipped off his jeans and set them on a chair near a desk in the room. He ruffled his hair and walked over to the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed that wasn't taken over by Light and stared out the window.

"Light-kun…" L said softly.

"Mmrg," came a muffled reply from the other side of the bed.

"You remember the promise you gave to me to be more pleasant towards Mello correct?" L said. There was a pause, but then another muffled reply followed, "Then you must know to be on your very best behavior tomorrow since it is the date of his birth,"

The bed shifted and Light's head lifted up slightly. Light balanced his chin on the pillow and simply turned his eyes to the detective. L returned his gaze. Light flipped his body around till he was also sitting on the bed. He blew some hair out of his face and then sighed.

"I'll try my best," Light said.

"That's all I ask…"

* * *

_**Sorry for the delay you guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The reason I haven't updated any of the stories on this account is due to the fact that I'm currently participating in a kind of fanfiction duet with one of my close friends. Since we're so far apart from each other, we thought the best way to interact was through writing together. Our joint account is called MounkeyJames. Check it out if you have the time. I'm James in the equation. Till next chapter my lovelies!!! Review if you can! =D**_

_**Umsteigen – to change trains**_


	10. Wanderings in Dream Land

_**Warning: Potential OOC in various places**__

* * *

_L walked down a long seemingly endless corridor. The walls were white-washed and single giant lights lit the way to some unknown destination. L thought he could smell freshly baked apple Strudel. He blindly followed the scent till he found his prize. L finally reached a room with the same white-washed walls. It was like a little alcove in the middle of the nothingness. Inside this room was a simple wooden chair and table._

_On the table sat his one true desire. The allure of the delectable treat was almost painful. There sat the sickly sweet apple strudel that was there for the taking. L approached the table licking his lips. Thin spidery hands reached forward. It looked so very delicious…_

_L sat down in his normal quirky way and began to devour the apple strudel mercilessly. The crisp crumbly crust that crunched as he bit into it, the heavenly taste of baked apples, the tiny hint of cinnamon, it was all so very tasty. There was just something about apples that L couldn't quite put his finger on, but it reminded him of something. _

_L was startled as he felt arms encircle him. The scent of apples grew strong again, but the dessert had already been eaten. Auburn locks came into view as the hold on L tightened and tiny wisps of hair brushed against his cheek. Suddenly the connection broke and the feeling of another warm body against him left. L turned his head and was put into a state of complete and utter shock. The detective tumbled out of his chair and careened into the floor._

_"Was ist los, mein Schatz?(1)" Light cooed as he hovered over L with a smile on his pretty face._

_The presence of Light was not what bothered L, it was what the young man had been and was still wearing. It was a traditional German dress. The coloring was a light blue and white. The tight top clung to Light's body due to his lack of breast, a burst of a skirts came out from around his non-existent hips and stopped just above his knees, a pretty lace fringed apron was tied around his waist, knee-high socks and shiny black shoes, and to top off the ensemble was a tiny bow pinned to his short auburn hair._

_"I was under the impression that Light-kun could not speak German…" L said airily as he attempted to breathe normally. Light in return to L's inquiry merely purred and lowered his body down to straddle the fallen detective. Bent knees were placed on either side of L's legs. Light leaned in close, eyes glowing._

_"Kuss…(2)" was the one word that finally escaped Light's puckered lips._

_"Kiss?" L replied wearily as Light continued to look at him almost as hungrily as he had been staring at the apple strudel earlier. A smile spread across Light's face. The gap between them began to narrow. The intermingling of breath as mouths drew near. _

_A strange feeling of falling came to L again._

* * *

"Oomph"

The floor was cold L determined as he lies there slightly dazed. It took a moment for him to actually register what had happened. A frown formed on his face as he took note of the tangled mess of sheets wrapped around him. The act of falling out of one's own bed seemed so implausible for someone such as himself.

Judging by how dark the room was, it was still quite a while till dawn. L sighed as he began to pick himself up from the ground. He moved towards the bed and took note that Light remained undisturbed. The young man was still sound asleep and unaware of the happenings around him. L shifted back into the bed again and adjusted the covers over himself.

"Uhn…"

L's eyes snapped back over to Light. Had he woken the youth up this time? It would appear not. Something inside the young man's mind appeared to be what was really bothering him. Light shifted in his sleep with his brows furrowed. He seemed distressed. A nightmare perhaps?

_Tokyo was in an uproar, people running this way and that screaming in complete and utter terror. Light was left among these people. He needed to escape. He needed to find somewhere to hide. Things were getting out of control._

_The ground began to shake violently._

_The screams of the sea of people intensified. The rumblings grew closer. Panic arose in Light. The young man's legs began to burn as he took off running down the crumbling asphalt of the street. Buildings were starting to crumble down in the background. Everything seemed like it was doomed._

_Glass shattered around Light as windows from a nearby building seemed to burst. The great beast terrorizing the city was coming upon him. He was going to die. He knew he was going to die, because of the ghastly creature coming after him. A dark cackle added to the city's violent shakes._

_Light dared to glance back. He knew he shouldn't have, but morbid curiosity had taken hold of him. His eyes soon connected with the face of evil. Menacing greenish-blue eyes stared back down at him Wisps of blonde hair whipped around the creature's face that held a wide smile. A zap of fear shot down Light's spine._

_"Mello-zilla…" Light said barely above a whisper._

Light started to murmur and shift in his sleep. L watched curiously as Light began to bury his face into his pillow with a whine. What could the young man possibly be dreaming about? Light continued to move in his sleep till he found L's arm. Then things got rather interesting….

L, whom was still caught up in the memory of his own dream, blushed prettily. The darkness did well to hide that blush. Light clung tightly to L's arm and brought himself closer to the detective. Light was trembling. L sighed. With some reluctance, the insomniac cradled Light in his arms in an attempt to alleviate whatever bad dream the youth was having.

This act of kindness seemed to do the trick. L watched as Light began to relax in his arms. The brunette snuggled more into the crook of L's arm. L continued to look upon the young man. He cautiously raised a hand and placed it into Light's hair. Long spidery fingers ghosted through the silky hair. A small smile tugged on L's lips.

Meanwhile…

* * *

_The meadow was beautiful, luscious, and green. The flowers were just in bloom, pretty white and yellow blossoms. Among all this greenery sat a white picket fence with a tiny hinged gate, and beside the gate stood a little girl. At least it looked to be a little girl…_

_Golden blonde hair was held up in a dainty black bow. Greenish-blue eyes sparkled as the poofy skirt of his dress swished around his legs. Mello cuddled his fluffy little sheep doll tightly to his chest as the hand held a curved staff. Mello skipped happily the rest of the way to the gate and opened it up._

_"Come now my little sheepies…" Mello cooed._

_In the distance of the meadow, one could see shuffling dots of white. Slowly but surely, the white dots bobbed along towards the gate. A toothy grin came to Mello's face. The sheep from the meadow began to collect by the fence. Then one by one, Mello started to send the sheep through the gate. Mello seemed content with this task._

_Suddenly there was a tug on Mello's dress. The blonde's attention swerved from the opening of the gate and over to his side. Mello found himself faced with curly white locks matching those of the sheep passing though, except these locks belonged to something to completely different from the farm animals. Mello was taken aback as cool dark eyes stared up at him._

_Near continued to shift the fabric of Mello's dress in his hands. Those dark eyes did not waver, No expression could be seen on the tiny boy's face. Mello felt himself flush. In the next moment, the sheep doll cuddled close to the blonde's chest was plucked from his hold._

_"What are you doing?" Mello said angrily as he stomped his foot childishly. Near said nothing as he studied the doll in his hands. Near shifted the doll around, poking and prodding. Mello watched this as he fumed silently. He wanted his doll back._

_"Why?" Near finally spoke._

_"What?" Mello growled back._

_"Why?" Near repeated._

_"Why What?" Mello said irritably._

_Near glanced innocently up into Mello's blue eyes. He brought up the doll to face the blonde. Mello twitched at the odd behavior the young man beside him was expressing. Then very suddenly the tiny white boy smirked._

_"Why do you have this doll?" Near answered Mello's question with another question. Mello simply tsk-ed and ripped the doll from Near's grip again. A tiny pink tongue stuck out of the blonde's mouth in as he attempted to taunt Near._

_"What kind of stupid question is that? Anyways… I don't have time to waste with you. I have sheep to herd!" Mello said snippily. Then the blonde turned to the open gate to finish his duties only to find something amiss. Where had the sheep gone?_

_Mello whipped his head around this way and that, but to no avail. The annoying albino had hindered his job. He had made him fail! A boiling rage built up in the young man. This was unacceptable! How dare that little creep do something like this! The audacity!_

_Mello stomped around to face Near once more. However, it would seem the young boy had disappeared with his flock. Where had they all gone to? Something began to shift wildly in Mello's hold. Mello glanced down to his arms and almost dropped the doll in his grasp. The only reason the doll was able to remain in his arms was due to the fact the doll itself was keeping it there._

_Tiny hands gripped Mello's arm. The cool dark eyes from moments earlier stared up at him again. His beloved little sheep doll had turned into 'him'. Why had this happened? A smirk appeared on Near's face again as he shifted in Mello's arms. His teeny legs wobbled beneath him._

_"Why have a doll like me?" Near questioned. _

_"I don't have a doll like you. I only have my sheep doll…" Mello commented as he raised mini Near into the air._

_"I am what I symbolize," Near replied._

_Mello grew quiet, Near was lowered down again in his arms. The words spoken by the young boy muddled around in the blonde's mind. Pretty blue eyes moved to the small boy in his arms. Mello's lips curled as only confusion set in._

_"Why would I have a doll like you?" Mello asked softly._

_"The reason lies with your feelings for me," Near answered._

_"Wh-what? What the hell are yo-you talking about?" Mello sputtered._

_"The doll represents your feelings for me. You care deeply for your doll, therefore you care deeply for me," Near said as he brought his hand up to curl into his hair. Mello's face flushed a bright red at the young boy's words. _

_"No! You're WRONG!" Mello shouted dropping the small boy. Near tumbled to the ground in what seemed like slow-motion. Mello watched as the small boy crumpled on the ground. The blonde stood there in shock momentarily before crouching to the ground. He lightly poked the tiny figure on the grass, "Near?"_

_The tiny boy didn't move and Mello began to tear up on his accord. He almost regretted dropping the boy. Mello brought his face close to the fallen body. Suddenly cold dark eyes popped open and a dark smirk appeared on Near's face._

_"Goodnight Mello…" _

_Then it all went dark._

* * *

Mello bolted up in his bed. His head was fuzzy and it took him a moment to pull himself together. The young man shifted in his sheets and his hand connected with something soft. Mello pulled up his sheep doll from under the covers and immediately threw it across the room. A scowl came to Mello's face and he hopped out of bed.

The blonde shuffled to his door and went out into the hall. He needed to talk to L about the strange dream he had. Well…talk about most of the dream. Mello would leave out certain details of the dream from the detective for various reasons. Heat rushed to Mello's cheeks, but his scowl deepened.

Mello scurried down the hall and made it to L and Light's room. Instead of knocking on the door, Mello opened it and wandered on in. He paused a foot into the room when he witnessed what was happening the bed. Anger boiled up inside.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

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_**I hope you enjoyed that chapter, Mello's actual Birthday will come soon. The dream sequence for Mello is significant for the sequel I plan to write. I'm kind of excited about this chapter simply for the fact I wrote it in on day.**_

_**Translations:**_

_**1 – What's wrong, my sweet/dear?**_

_**2 - Kiss**_


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